Lorilichus,a new genus of feather mites (Acarina,Pterolichidae) from lories and lorikeets (Aves,Psittacidae)

Lorilichus n. g. (Pterolichidae, Pterolichinae) is restricted to the Indo-Australian parrots of the family Loriidae. Assigned to this new genus are Pterolichus (Pseudalloptes) species described by Trouessart in 1884, namely, lobiger (type-species), delibativentris, discifer, cultriventris, emargiventris and securiventris. The first three named species are illustrated and two new species, parvifolius and grandifolius, are described: the five species are from Lorius domicellus (L.).     

Geographical structuring of feather mite assemblages from the Australian brush-turkey (Aves: Megapodiidae)

Populations of a host species may exhibit different assemblages of parasites and other symbionts. The loss of certain species of symbionts (lineage sorting, or "missing-the-boat") is a mechanism by which geographical variation in symbiont assemblages can arise. We studied feather mites and lice from Australian brush-turkeys (Aves: Megapodiidae: Alectura lathami) and expected to observe geographical structuring in arthropod assemblages for several reasons. First, because the brush-turkey is a sedentary ground-dwelling bird, we predicted that geographically close host populations should share more similar arthropod assemblages than distant ones. Second, because brush-turkeys do not brood their young, vertical transfer of arthropods is unlikely, and brush-turkeys probably acquire their mites and lice at social maturity through contact with other birds. Young birds could disperse and found new populations without carrying complete sets of symbionts. We predicted that young birds would have fewer species of arthropods than older birds; in addition, we expected that males (which are polygynous) would have more species than females. Birds were sampled from 12 sites (=populations) along the east coast of Queensland, Australia, that were separated by a distance of 12.5-2,005 km. In total, 5 species of mites from the Pterolichidae and 1 species from the Ascouracaridae were found. Two species of lice were collected but in numbers too low to be statistically useful. Differentiation of mite assemblages was evident; in particular, Leipobius sp. showed 100% prevalence in 3 host populations and 0% in the remaining 9. A dendrogram of brush-turkey populations based on mite assemblages showed 2 geographically correlated clusters of sites, plus 1 cluster that contained 2 sites near Brisbane and 1 approximately at a distance of 1,000 km. There was no strong effect of host age or sex on number of mite species carried. Horizontal transfer of feather mites by hippoboscid flies, in addition to physical contact between hosts, may play a role in homogenizing symbiont assemblages within populations.     

Feather mites (Acarina) of the parakeet, Melopsittacus undulatus (Shaw) (Aves: Psittacidae)

The parakeet (or budgerigar) has been transported to many regions of the world. Two species of feather mites, Protolichus lunula (Robin) (Pterolichoidea: Pterolichidae) and Dubininia melopsittaci n. sp. (Analgoidea: Xolalgidae), are specific to this host; from distribution records, these ectoparasites probably have been distributed worldwide with their hosts.     

Consumption of nematodes by fungivorous mites,Tyrophagus spp. (Acarina: Astigmata: Acaridae)

Summary Free-living nematodes may be attacked and eaten by soil mites which are normally considered fungivores or saprophages. Three species in the genus Tyrophagus, common inhabitants of grassland soils and also common pests in stored products, museums and laboratories, are predators of nematodes. All active stages of the mites will voraciously consume nematodes. When offered nematodes and a choice of other food (baker's yeast and algae), 11% of the Tyrophagus putrescentiae, 23% of the T. zachvatkini, and 56% of the T. similis tested fed on nematodes. Tyrophagus zechvatkini and similis were reared on a diet consisting entirely of nematodes, and developed at rates similar to a fungal diet and produced viable offspring. Agar cultures of Aphelenchus avenae which were inoculated with five mating pairs of Tyrophagus zachvatkini had populations that were one-third less than mite-free controls. Observations indicate that nematodes may be attacked by tyrophagid mites when in a dry, anhydrobiotic state.     

Sylviornis neocaledoniae (Aves,Galliformes, Megapodiidae), oiseau Géant éteint de l'ile des Pins (Nouvelle-Calédonie)

Sylviornis neocaledoniae is represented in the sites of Kanumera, Isle of Pines, by a few cranial elements (palatines, quadrates, quadratojugal) but mainly by post-cranial remains. The fact that palatines are fused in the sagittal plane proves the palate of Sylviornis to be neognathous. The flightless bird's post-cranial skeleton is highly modified, but some anatomical characters show it can be assigned to Galliformes, and, amongst them, is closer to recent or extinct Megapodes than to any other family, Sylviornis neocaledoniae was probably exterminated by man who preserved its mythological memory under the name of Du.     

New feather mites of the family Pterolichidae (Acari: Pterolichoidea) from parrots (Aves: Psittaciformes) in Australia

Abstract Seven new feather mite species of the family Pterolichidae are described from various Australian parrots: Apexolichus lathami sp. n. from the swift parrot, Lathamus discolor (Shaw); Titanolichus platycerci sp. n. and Rhytidelasma punctata sp. n. from the pale-headed rosella, Platycercus adscitus (Latham); R. striata sp. n. from the Australian king-parrot, Alisterus scapularis (Lichtenstein); Lorilichus stenolobus sp. n. and Lorilichus curvilobus sp. n. from the rainbow lorikeet, Trichoglossus haematodus (Linnaeus); Psittophagus galahi sp. n. from the galah, Eolophus roseicapillus (Vieillot). We give a brief overview of taxonomic studies of pterolichid mites living on Psittaciformes, and discuss the main diagnostic characters of different generic groups of these mites.     

Descriptions of two new species of feather mites (Acarina: Psoroptidia: Pteronyssidae) from Ivory Coast

Two new feather mite species of the family Pteronyssidae Oudemans, 1941 collected from birds captured in Ivory Coast are described: Pteronyssoides cyanomitrae n. sp. from Cyanomitra obscura (Jardine) (Passeriformes: Nectariniidae) and Conomerus pygmaeus n. sp. from Hylia prasina (Cassin) (Passeriformes: Macrosphenidae). Pteronyssoides cyanomitrae n. sp. belongs to the nectariniae species group and differs from the closest species, P. garioui Gaud & Mouchet, 1959, in having, in males, the adanal shield present and setae f longer than setae d on the tarsus III; females of this species have the hysteronotal shield with two small median incisions on the anterior margin barely extending beyond the level of setae e2. Conomerus pygmaeus n. sp. is the first species of this genus found on a passerine host, and seems to be more similar to C. sclerosternus Gaud, 1990. This new species has the following distinctive characters: in females, the opisthosoma has small lobe-like extensions and the central sclerite is fused posteriorly with the lateral opisthosomal sclerites; in males, coxal fields I–IV lack large sclerotised areas.     

Fine‐tuned distribution of feather mites (Astigmata) on the wing of birds: the case of blackcaps Sylvia atricapilla

The distribution of feather mites (Astigmata) along the wing of passerine birds could change dramatically within minutes because of the rapid movement of mites between feathers. However, no rigorous study has answered how fine‐tuned is the pattern of distribution of feather mites at a given time. Here we present a multiscale study of the distribution of feather mites on the wing of non‐moulting blackcaps Sylvia atricapilla in a short time period and at a single locality. We found that the number and distribution of mites differed among birds, but it was extremely similar between the wings of each bird. Moreover, mites consistently avoided the first secondary feather, despite that it is placed at the centre of the feathers most used by them. Thus, our results suggest that feather mites do precise, feather‐level decisions on where to live, contradicting the current view that mites perform “mass”, or “blind” movements across wing feathers. Moreover, our findings indicate that “rare” distributions are not spurious data or sampling errors, but each distribution of mites on the wing of each bird is the outcome of the particular conditions operating on each ambient‐bird‐feather mite system at a given time. This study indicates that we need to focus on the distribution of feather mites at the level of the individual bird and at the feather level to improve our understanding of the spatial ecology of mites on the wings of birds.     

Gallilichus jonesi sp. n. (Acari: Ascouracaridae): A new species of feather mite from the quills of the Australian brush-turkey (Aves: Megapodiidae)

Adults, nymphs, larvae and eggs of Gallilichus jonesi sp. n. are described. These mites inhabit the quills of large wing and tail feathers of the megapode Alectura lathami Gray, where they appear to consume the spongy medulla inside the quill. This is the first record of Gallilichus for Australia, and the first observation of quill mites associated with the Megapodiidae. Two nymphal morphologies of G. jonesi were observed and are presumed to represent male and female, but because pharate adults were not found, definitive assignment of morphs to sexes was not possible. The only other species in the genus Gallilichus occurs in the feathers of domestic chickens. The implications of these host-associations for elucidating relationships between the megapodes and other galliform birds are discussed.     

Gonads and gametogenesis in astigmatic mites (Acariformes: Astigmata)

Astigmatans are a large group of mites living in nearly every environment and exhibiting very diverse reproductive strategies. In spite of an uniform anatomical organization of their reproductive systems, gametogenesis in each sex is highly variable, leading to gamete formation showing many peculiar features and emphasizing the distinct position of Astigmata. This review summarizes the contemporary knowledge on the structure of ovaries and testes in astigmatic mites, the peculiarities of oogenesis and spermatogenesis, as well as provides new data on several species not studied previously. New questions are discussed and approaches for future studies are proposed.     

Combined nuclear and mitochondrial DNA sequences resolve generic relationships within the Cracidae (Galliformes,Aves)

The Cracidae is one of the most endangered and distinctive bird families in the Neotropics, yet the higher relationships among taxa remain uncertain. The molecular phylogeny of its 11 genera was inferred using 10,678 analyzable sites (5,412 from seven different mitochondrial segments and 5,266 sites from four nuclear genes). We performed combinability tests to check conflicts in phylogenetic signals of separate genes and genomes. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the unrooted tree of ((curassows, horned guan) (guans, chachalacas)) was favored by most data partitions and that different data partitions provided support for different parts of the tree. In particular, the concatenated mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) genes resolved shallower nodes, whereas the combined nuclear sequences resolved the basal connections among the major clades of curassows, horned guan, chachalacas, and guans. Therefore, we decided that for the Cracidae all data should be combined for phylogenetic analysis. Maximum parsimony (MP), maximum likelihood (ML), and Bayesian analyses of this large data set produced similar trees. The MP tree indicated that guans are the sister group to (horned guan, (curassows, chachalacas)), whereas the ML and Bayesian analysis recovered a tree where the horned guan is a sister clade to curassows, and these two clades had the chachalacas as a sister group. Parametric bootstrapping showed that alternative trees previously proposed for the cracid genera are significantly less likely than our estimate of their relationships. A likelihood ratio test of the hypothesis of a molecular clock for cracid mtDNA sequences using the optimal ML topology did not reject rate constancy of substitutions through time. We estimated cracids to have originated between 64 and 90 million years ago (MYA), with a mean estimate of 76 MYA. Diversification of the genera occurred approximately 41-3 MYA, corresponding with periods of global climate change and other Earth history events that likely promoted divergences of higher level taxa.     

The feather mite (Astigmata) fauna of some passerine birds (Passeriformes) in the south of Western Siberia

Feather mites (Astigmata) are specialized parasites living on the plumage and skin of birds. The paper presents data on infestation of some passerines (Passeriformes) by feather mites in the south of Western Siberia (Omsk and Tyumen Provinces). We found 24 species of feather mites belonging to the families Analgidae, Dermoglyphidae, Pteronyssidae, Trouessartiidae, and Proctophyllodidae on 16 bird species. Among them, 19 species are common parasites of the passerine birds examined; five species were detected on atypical hosts. Ten mite species were recorded for the first time on the passerine species examined. Analysis of the distribution of abundant and common mite species on their hosts has demonstrated that the majority of the bird parasites possess a specific distribution pattern in the host plumage with preference for certain feather types. We have also obtained new data on host associations of several mite species.