Neopicobia Skoracki, 2011

Skoracki, Maciej, Sikora, Bozena & Spicer, Greg S., 2016, A review of the subfamily Picobiinae Johnston and Kethley, 1973 (Acariformes: Prostigmata: Syringophilidae), Zootaxa 4113 (1), pp. 1-95 : 31-33

Genus Neopicobia Skoracki, 2011

Neopicobia Skoracki, 2011: 383 .

Type species: Picobia anthi Fritsch, 1958 , by original designation.

Diagnosis. FEMALE. Hypostomal apex tapering. Peritremes mouth-shaped, lateral branches short and with illvisible chambers in most species. Setae vi situated anterior to level of setae ve. Propodonotal shield entire, bearing setae vi, ve, si, c1 and se or divided into 2 narrow lateral sclerites (bearing bases of setae si and se), and unpaired large medial sclerite (bearing bases of setae vi, ve and c1). Opisthonotal and genital lobes absent. Bases of setae 1a separated. Pseudanal setal series represented by 2 pairs. Genital setae absent. Apodemes I without thorn-like protuberances. Solenidia phi (φ) on tibiae I absent. Physogastric form with weakly enlarged idiosoma , bulb-shaped in outline.

MALE. Features as in females except: genital setal series represented by 2 pairs.

Species included. Ten species: N. anthi ( Fritsch, 1958) , N. cardinalis ( Skoracki et al., 2010) , N. carpodacus ( Skoracki et al., 2010) , N. ea Skoracki and Unsoeld, 2014, N. freya Skoracki and Unsoeld, 2014 , N. hepburni Glowska and Laniecka, 2014 , N. ictericus ( Skoracki and Glowska, 2010) comb. nov., N. modularis ( Skoracki and Magowski, 2001) , N. pari sp. nov., and N. troglodytes ( Skoracki et al., 2010) .

Host range. Passeriformes : Cardinalidae , Fringillidae , Icteridae , Motacillidae , Paridae , Parulidae , Prunellidae , Troglodytidae .

Piciformes : Picidae .

Distribution. Nearctic ( USA), Neotropical ( Brazil, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela); Palaearctic ( Finland, Germany, Macedonia, Mongolia, Poland, Slovakia), Panamanian ( Panama), Sino-Japanese ( China, Japan) and Afrotropical ( Guyana, Tanzania, Kenya) and Australian regions.

Remarks. This genus can be divided onto two major species groups. In the species belonging to the “ freya group ”, the females have a well developed pair of hysteronotal shields bearing bases of setae d1 and e2; the pygidial shield is large, massive and additionally can posses pygidial wing-shaped lobes (e.g. N. hepburni ); a pair of agenital plates is elongated and fused (e.g. N. ea) or not with the genital plate. This group includes three species: N. ea, N. freya and N. hepburni , all of them are associated with birds of the order Piciformes .

In females of the second species group “ anthi ”, the hysteronotal shields is reduced to small sclerites surrounded bases of setae d2 or absent (in most species); the agenital and genital plates are absent. This species group includes six species: N. anthi , N. cardinalis , N. carpodacus , N. ictericus comb. nov., N. modularis , N. pari sp. nov., and N. troglodytes , all of them are associated with birds of the order Passeriformes .