Lunaceps numenii phaeopi ( Denny, 1842 )

Gustafsson, Daniel R. & Olsson, Urban, 2012, 3377, Zootaxa 3377, pp. 1-85 : 57-60

Lunaceps numenii phaeopi ( Denny, 1842)

( Fig. 23a – d; Table 1)

Nirmus phaeopi Denny, 1842: 54

Nirmus phaeopodis Giebel, 1874: 166

Nirmus trimaculatus Piaget, 1880: 174

Nirmus phaeopi Denny ; Piaget, 1880: 177

Nirmus phaeopi Denny ; Mjöberg, 1910: 139

Nirmus trimaculatus Nitzsch ; Mjöberg, 1910: 145 [Mjöberg uncertain]

Degeeriella oliveri Johnston and Harrison, 1912: 367

Nirmus phaeopi Denny ; Waterston, 1915: 33

Degeeriella phaeopi (Denny) ; Harrison, 1916: 120

Degeeriella trimaculatus (Piaget) ; Harrison, 1916: 125

Degeeriella oliveri (Johnston and Harrison) ; Harrison, 1916: 119

Degeeriella sp. Peters, 1936: 15

Degeeriella oliveri Johnston and Harrison ; Thompson, 1939: 120

Degeeriella phaeopi (Denny) ; Séguy, 1944: 296

Lunaceps phaeopi (Denny) ; Hopkins and Clay, 1952: 202

Lunaceps trimaculata (Piaget) ; Hopkins and Clay, 1952: 202

Lunaceps phaeopi (Denny) ; Timmermann, 1954a: 631

Lunaceps phaeopi (Denny) ; Emerson, 1958: 57

Lunaceps phaeopi (Denny) ; Malcomson, 1960: 190

Lunaceps numenii phaeopi (Denny) ; Keirans, 1967: 115

Lunaceps phaeopi (Denny) ; Hackman and Nyholm, 1968: 80

Lunaceps numenii phaeopi (Denny) ; Emerson, 1972: 95

Lunaceps phaeopi (Denny) ; Eichler and Hackman, 1973: 92

Lunaceps phaeopi (Denny) ; Ledger, 1980: 169

Lunaceps numenii oliveri (Johnston and Harrison) ; Pilgrim and Palma, 1982: 20

Lunaceps numenii phaeopi (Denny) ; Price et al., 2003: 196

Lunaceps numenii oliveri (Johnston and Harrison) ; Price et al., 2003: 196

Lunaceps numenii phaeopi (Denny) ; Palma and Jensen, 2005: 56

Lunaceps phaeopi (Denny) (“Clade 9”); Gustafsson and Olsson (2012): 94 ( Figs. 1, 2)

Lunaceps oliveri (Johnston and Harrison) (“Clade 9”); Gustafsson and Olsson (2012): 94 ( Figs. 1, 2)

Type host: Numenius phaeopus ( Linnaeus, 1758)

Other hosts: Numenius phaeopus hudsonicus Latham, 1790 , Numenius phaeopus variegatus ( Scopoli, 1786) , Ciconia episcopus ( Boddaert, 1783) (in error?)

Diagnosis: Overall very pale. Head narrows anteriorly ( Fig. 23a). Hyaline margin comparatively broad. Marginal carina interrupted or vague anteriorly, anterior to the dorsal preantennal suture present only as a pair of dark dorsal lines between the AS 1 and AS 2, and a pair of small ventral “islands”. Dorsal anterior suture quite narrow and interrupted medially. Ventral anterior plate broad, with a pointed, but irregular, posterior margin, and augmented by a central thickening. Lateral nodi well developed. AVS2 and AVS3 more or less aligned, and both markedly posterior to ADS (in material from N. ph variegatus all three sets are aligned). Marginal temporal carina narrow.

Pterothorax with rounded posterior margin.

Abdomen slender, usually with subparallel lateral sides ( Fig. 23b). Ventral setae on segment II positioned at middle of sternite, or slightly anterior to the middle (in material from N. ph variegatus). Paratergal plates narrow anteriorly, but broaden posteriorly, and with narrow dark border markings in males. Antero-lateral ends of tergites pointed in segments III–IV, rounded in V–VIII. Sublateral indentation broad, but variable. Tergal bars in segments IV–V sometimes nearly reach the anterior-lateral end of the tergite, but never form proper tergal heads. Tergites very pale, except laterally where they are as darkly coloured as other species. This pale area overlaps with the gap between the paratergal plate and the sternite.

Female genital lobes with 7–8 posterior marginal setae, 5 sub-marginal setae, and 7 median marginal setae ( Fig. 23c). Parameres slender and gently curved, with a ventral aperture on distal fourth ( Fig. 23d). Lower endomere dark brown or black, in clear contrast to the other parts of the genitalia, which are more yellow. Basal apodeme also darker than parameres and mesomere, but not nearly as dark as the lower endomere. Mesomere elongated distally, with a bulge in the distal half, associated with three pairs of lateral microsetae, usually visible only as three pairs of apertures. Dorsal fingers convergent and extending anteriorly of the ventral blades. Lower endomere broad and wide, attached to the apodemal bridge by a narrow triangle. Apodemal bridge clearly defined both anteriorly and posteriorly.

Nymphs: Ventral carina rounded. Dorsal preantennal suture broad and clearly defined. Abdomen hard to assess due to transparency, but seems slender.

Discussion: The populations of Lunaceps on N. phaeopus phaeopus , N. phaeopus variegatus , and N. arquata are almost identical genetically ( Gustafsson and Olsson, 2012), but can be distinguished morphologically. Until a more thorough study has been made of the Lunaceps from species of Numenius , we prefer to keep these three populations, as well as that of N. madagascariensis , as subspecies of the same species. The two populations from N. phaeopus ssp. are genetically identical, and are here synonymised.

Lunaceps numenii phaeopi is a very slender subspecies, with a head that is typically narrow in the preantennal area. The paleness of this subspecies, more than anything, sets it apart from the other subspecies. This is especially noticeable in the head, where the various dark markings are starkly contrasted with what appears to be an almost white centre, but also in the abdomen of many specimens (especially females). The pale area of the tergites overlap with the gap between the sternite and the paratergal plates, which gives the whole abdomen a very pale, almost striped, appearance, making the subspecies easily recognisable even in a stereomicroscope.

Lunaceps numenii phaeopi is quite similar to the nominate subspecies, but is more slender, and with different male genitalia, where the mesomere abruptly narrows at about mid-length in L. numenii phaeopi , but more gradually in L. numenii numenii . The distal ends of the mesomere are also broader and blunter in L. numenii numenii . In L. numenii phaeopi there is a colour difference between the lightly coloured mesomere and parameres, and the darkly coloured lower endomere and basal apodeme, with the former being even darker. The same contrast can be found in some specimens of Lunaceps numenii madagascariensis ssp. nov.

Other than the subspecies of L. numenii , L. n. phaeopi is perhaps most similar to L. hopkinsi , but it lacks the intermediate pair of macrosetae of abdominal segment III of L. hopkinsi ; there are some other differences in the relative sizes of abdominal setae, but these are often hard to assess without large samples. For instance, the sublateral setae of abdominal segment IV are longer and more slender in L. hopkinsi , and thus more similar to the median ones, whereas the same setae in L. numenii phaeopi are much shorter.

No significant differences have been found between the material from N. phaeopus phaeopus and N. phaeopus hudsonicus (cf. Timmermann, 1954a). Specimens from N. phaeopus variegatus (formerly Lunaceps numenii oliveri ) are generally larger and paler than those from other host subspecies, and with slight differences in head setal arrangement; females often have fewer posterior marginal setae. Nevertheless, Gustafsson and Olsson (2012) showed that these populations are genetically identical to those of the nominate host subspecies, and the two louse populations are synonymised again in this paper (as in Hopkins and Clay, 1952; Keirans, 1967). Lunaceps oliveri was not mentioned by Timmermann (1954a).

Timmermann (1954a) noted that the holotype male of L. trimaculatus agreed well with L. numenii phaeopi in its measurements, and synonymised both under the assumption that L. trimaculatus , from a stork, was a straggler. Piaget’s (1880) illustration is quite similar to L. numenii numenii , in that it appears to lack any elaborate structures in the preantennal area, and the lateral and sublateral setae of the abdomen are long, however it could also be said to be similar to L. numenii phaeopi or other Lunaceps from Numenius . We follow Timmermann (1954a) in regarding L. trimaculatus as a junior synonym of L. numenii phaeopi .

Etymology: From phaeo = dusky and pus = foot. Named after the host, which can be separated from other curlews by a number of characters, of which the colour of the legs is not the most prominent one. Lunaceps oliveri was named after W. R. B. Oliver (1883–1957) of the Dominion Museum, Wellington, and one of the leaders of the expedition to the Kermadec Islands during which the original material was collected.

Material examined:

Ex Numenius phaeopus

♀ 27, ♂ 24, Ireland, September 1937, Meinertzhagen Collection 10580 ( NHML) . ♀ 4, ♂ 3, Maldives: North Male Atoll , 6 February 1957, BM 1957-283 ( NHML) . ♀ 18, ♂ 18, United Kingdom: Wales: Bardsey Island , 13 May 1953, BM 1980-40 ( NHML) . ♀ 24, ♂ 26, United Kingdom: Shetlands , August 1939, Meinertzhagen Collection 13616 ( NHML) . ♀ 6, ♂ 5, United Kingdom: Scotland: Hebrides: South Uist , September 1953, Meinertzhagen Collection 20223, BM1953-658 ( NHML) . ♀ 2, ♂ 2, n#2, Cameroon [as “French Cameroons”]: Louala , June 1959, BM 1960-295 ( NHML) . ♂ 1, France: Brittany: Ouessant [as “Ushant”], April 1935, Meinertzhagen Collection 3415 ( NHML) . ♀ 12, ♂ 7, Egypt, May 1936, Meinertzhagen Collection 4715 ( NHML) . ♀ 1, ♂ 1, Madagascar: Maroantsetra , January 1964 ( NHML) . ♀ 1, ♂ 1, Ireland, August 1934, Hopkins Collection ( NHML) . ♀ 1, ♂ 1, France: Brittany: Ouessant [as “Ushant”], April 1935, Hopkins Collection ( NHML) . ♀ 1, ♂ 3, Iceland, August 1934, Meinertzhagen Collection 2090 ( NHML) . ♀ 1, ♂ 1, Slovenia: Ljubljana, 6 April 1954, BM 1958-661 ( NHML) . ♀ 6, ♂ 9, Norway, DM 2585 ( MONZ) . n#3, Philippines: Batangas: Calatagan , 11 September 1966, 6E- 0602 ( NHML) . n#3, Philippines: Batangas: Calatagan , 12 September 1966, 6E-0699 ( NHML) . ♂ 3, Russia: Kobyayskiy: North of Yakutsk: Lena River , 4 June 1975, Sb. Yanaja? [Slide text in Russian] ( MFN) . n#1, Sweden: Öland: Ottenby Bird Observatory , 4 August 2007, ID: 299, Band number: 7066021, D. Gustafsson ( SMNH) .

Ex Numenius phaeopus hudsonicus

♀ 10, ♂ 7, United States: California, Meinertzhagen Collection 12732 ( NHML) . ♀ 1, Canada: British Columbia: Vancouver Area: Lulu Island , 30 April 1941, BM 1956-302 ( NHML) . ♀ 1, United States: California, May 1912, Meinertzhagen Collection 4422 ( NHML) . ♀ 1, ♂ 1, Brazil: Bahia: Ilha Madre Deus Est , February 1933, Hopkins Collection ( NHML) . ♀ 2, ♂ 2, Canada: Manitoba, Meinertzhagen Collection 11150 ( NHML) . ♀ 3, ♂ 1, United States: Virginia: Cobbs Island , 24 May 1881 ( MONZ) .

Ex Numenius phaeopus variegatus

♀ 1, ♂ 2, Indonesia: North Borneo: Tanjang Aru Beach , 21 September 1960, B; 1964-163 ( NHML) . ♀ 1, ♂ 1, Philippines: Batangas: Calatagan , 12 August 1965, BM 1968-86 ( NHML) . ♀ 10, ♂ 10, New Zealand: Taranaki: Puniha: Paeora Rol , 25 October 1979 ( MONZ) . ♀ 1, Australia: Western Australia: 80 Mile Beach: Near Anna Plains Cattle Station , 21 November 2008, ID: 933a-1, Band number: 083-23776, D. Gustafsson ( SMNH) .

Ex Ibidorhyncha struthersii (possibly straggler): ♀ 1, N. Tibet, 1798 ( NHML) .

Ex Limosa lapponica (possibly straggler): ♂ 1, England, L. Harrison Collection ( NHML) .

Material of uncertain status:

Ex Numenius phaeopus :

♂ 1 (genitalia only), United Kingdom: Shetlands: Lerwick, J. Waterston Collection, BM 1930-232 ( NHML) .