ten new species of Myrsidea Waterston, 1915 parasitic on members of the avian families Formicariidae, thraupidae, tyrannidae, troglodytidae and icteridae are described herein. they and their type hosts are M. isacantha sp. n. ex Chamaeza nobilis gould, M. circumsternata sp. n. ex Formicarius colma Boddaert (Formicariidae); M. cacioppoi sp. n. ex Lanio fulvus (Boddaert), M. brasiliensis sp. n. ex Tangara chilensis (Vigors), M. saviti sp. n. ex Tangara schrankii (spix) (thraupidae), M. rodriguesae sp. n. ex Cnipodectes subbrunneus (sclater), M. cnemotriccola sp. n. ex Cnemotriccus fuscatus (Wied-Neuwied), M. lathrotriccola sp. n. ex Lathrotriccus euleri (cabanis) (tyrannidae), M. faccioae sp. n. ex Cyphorhinus arada transfluvialis (todd) (troglodytidae), and M. lampropsaricola sp. n. ex Lampropsar tanagrinus (spix) (icteridae). Among these are two new Myrsidea species described from the avian family Formicariidae, which previously had only a single described Myrsidea species, and a new host record for M. cinnamomei Dalgleish et Price, 2005 ex Attila citriniventris sclater. Analysis of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase i sequences for these and other neotropical Myrsidea species provides an assessment of their phylogenetic relationships and indicates that all of these newly described species are genetically distinct. We also put these descriptions into context by estimating the potential number of unnamed Myrsidea species in Brazil, given the known diversity of potential hosts and typical levels of host specificity for Myrsidea species. our estimate indicates that Brazilian Myrsidea species diversity is likely more than an order of magnitude greater than the number of described Myrsidea species known from Brazil, highlighting the need for future work on this megadiverse ectoparasite genus.

The result of a survey of ectoparasites infesting bats in southeastern Brazil is presented. Of 181 bats belonging to 16 species, 10 (34.1%) were infested by streblid flies (Streblidae), nine (33.5%) by spinturnicid mites (Spinturnicidae), and five (8.3%) by macronyssid mites (Macronyssidae). One species of the families Trombiculidae and Myobiidae was found. A total of 195 streblids, 178 spinturnicids, and 76 macronyssids was collected. Paratrichobius longicrus was the most abundant bat fly species (50 specimens). The spinturnicid mite Periglischrus iheringi was the most abundant ectoparasite species (159 specimens) and was recorded on three different bat species; Radfordiella desmodi was the most numerous macronyssid (69 specimens).

No abstract

O parasitismo é um importante mecanismo que afeta populações e comunidades. O objetivo deste estudo foi investigar a fauna de ectoparasitos que habita o corpo do sabiá-de-coleira, Turdus albicollis Vieillot, 1818 e avaliar se a massa corporal do hospedeiro é afetada por estes parasitos. Os indivíduos de T. albicollis foram mensalmente capturados na Ilha Grande, Rio de Janeiro, no período de julho de 1999 a junho de 2000, em uma área de Floresta Atlântica. As aves foram individualmente marcadas, pesadas e examinadas para registrar e quantificar a presença de ectoparasitos. A abundância e a localização dos parasitos no corpo do hospedeiro foram registradas. Em 54 indivíduos de T. albicollis amostrados, foram encontrados duas espécies de ectoparasitos. A prevalência de ácaros de penas, Pterodectes turdinus Berla, 1959, foi de 72,2% enquanto que a de carrapatos, Amblyomma longirostre Koch, 1844, foi de 27,8%. A abundância mensal de P. turdinus foi significativamente relacionada com os meses do ano, sendo maior nos meses com menor freqüência de chuva. Não houve relação estatisticamente significativa entre a massa corporal do hospedeiro (g) e a abundância total de ácaros de penas e carrapatos.

Parasite diversity accounts for most of the biodiversity on earth, and is shaped by many processes (e.g., cospeciation, host switching). To identify the effects of the processes that shape parasite diversity, it is ideal to incorporate both deep (phylogenetic) and shallow (population) perspectives. To this end, we developed a novel workflow to obtain phylogenetic and population genetic data from whole genome sequences of body lice parasitizing New World ground-doves. Phylogenies from these data showed consistent, highly resolved species-level relationships for the lice. By comparing the louse and ground-dove phylogenies, we found that over long-term evolutionary scales their phylogenies were largely congruent. Many louse lineages (both species and populations) also demonstrated high host-specificity, suggesting ground-dove divergence is a primary driver of their parasites' diversity. However, the few louse taxa that are generalists are structured according to biogeography at the population level. This suggests dispersal among sympatric hosts has some effect on body louse diversity, but over deeper time scales the parasites eventually sort according to host species. Overall, our results demonstrate that multiple factors explain the patterns of diversity in this group of parasites, and that the effects of these factors can vary over different evolutionary scales. The integrative approach we employed was crucial for uncovering these patterns, and should be broadly applicable to other studies.

Abstract:The goal of this study was to identify feather mites on Cerrado birds. This study was conducted at Fazenda Água Limpa (FAL), Distrito Federal, Brazil, between January and August 2002. Birds were captured with mist nets and banded. Were sampled 696 birds, belonging to 83 species and 25 bird families of Passeriformes and non-Passeriformes. Feather mites were found on five families: Analgidae, Trouessartiidae, Proctophyllodidae, Avenzoariidae and Psoroptoididae. The present work reports new occurrences of feather mites on captured hosts. The family Proctophyllodidae and the genus Pterodectes were the most prevalent group of feather mites collected. Tyrannidae, Pipridae, Emberizidae and Thraupidae were the bird families with most host numbers, with parasites from three taxa: Trouessartiidae, Proctophyllodidae and Analgidae. Considering the birds captured the prevalence was 44.98%. Trochilidae, Conopophagidae, Furnariidae, Tityridae, Turdidae, Mimidae, Cardinalidae, and Parulidae were the families with major feather mites prevalence (≥50%

We describe and illustrate three new species of chewing lice in the genus Philopteroides parasitic on passerines (Order Passeriformes, families Acanthizidae, Rhipiduridae and Petroicidae) from New Zealand. They are: Philopteroides pilgrimi sp. n. from Gerygone igata igata; Philopteroides fuliginosus sp. n. from Rhipidura fuliginosa placabilis and Rhipidura fuliginosa fuliginosa; and Philopteroides macrocephalus sp. n. from Petroica macrocephala macrocephala and Petroica macrocephala dannefaerdi. The identity of Docophorus lineatus Giebel, 1874 is discussed based on its morphology and host association. We also transfer Tyranniphilopterus beckeri to the genus Philopteroides, and provide a key to identify adults of 12 of the 13 species now included in Philopteroides.

A new species of the feather mite genus Trouessartia Canestrini (Acari: Trouessartiidae) is described from Myiobius atricaudus Lawrence, 1863 (Aves: Passeriformes: Tyrannidae) from Brazil. Trouessartia longiducta sp. nov. is remarkable in having the longest external copulatory tube in females among species of the genus Trouessartia. It differs from the closest species T. geospiza OConnor et al., 2005 in having the female copulatory tube extending beyond the level of lobar apices.http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:E46D73C3-0C6E-4A96-8F60-DCF84A3ED500