Proechinophthirus fluctus (Ferris, 1916)

Leonardi, Maria Soledad & Palma, Ricardo Luis, 2013, Review of the systematics, biology and ecology of lice from pinnipeds and river otters (Insecta: Phthiraptera: Anoplura: Echinophthiriidae), Zootaxa 3630 (3), pp. 445-466 : 454

Proechinophthirus fluctus (Ferris, 1916)

Echinophthirius fluctus Ferris, 1916b: 366 , figs 1–4. McAtee 1923: 142; Freund 1928: 17; Ass 1934: 103.

Proechinophthirus fluctus (Ferris, 1916b) ; Ewing 1923: 149; Ferris 1934: 481, figs 279–281; Hopkins 1949: 508; Ferris 1951: 81, fig. 36; Jellison 1952: 274; Margolis 1954: 277; Jellison & Milner 1958: 200; King 1964: 139; Keyes 1965: 1094; Spencer 1966: 24; Miller 1971: 670, figs 12–18; Kim 1971: 286, figs 27–40; Kim 1972: 2028, figs 1–3; Margolis & Dailey 1972: 14; Kim et al. 1974: 281; Kim 1975: 504, figs 342–348; Kim et al. 1975: 547; Murray 1976: 92, fig. 4.3; Lyons et al. 1978: 455; Lyons et al. 1980: 56; Marshall 1981: 175, 247, 292; Kim 1982b: 125; King 1983: 203; Kim 1985: 201; Kim et al. 1986: 54, pl. 6; Kim 1987: 230, figs 23.20–23.23; Kim 1988: 108–109; Durden & Musser 1994a: 8; Durden & Musser 1994b: 140; Light et al. 2010: 296, 298.

Proechinophthirus fluctus ochotensis Blagoveshtchensky, 1966: 808 , figs 10–12. Zarubina 1986: 374, fig. 196.6. Synonymised by Kim (1971: 286).

Type host. Eumetopias jubatus (Schreber, 1776) —Northern sea lion, in error. The type series of P. fluctus originated from a skin held in the Stanford University Zoology Museum. According to Ferris (1934), it is likely that the skin had been misidentified and that it was a northern fur seal ( Callorhinus ursinus ).

Type locality. Not given; presumably Alaska, according to Kim (1971: 286).

Type specimen/s data. Syntypes Ƥ and nymphs, deposited in EMEC under numbers 57973 and 52227.

Other host. Callorhinus ursinus (Linnaeus, 1758) —Northern fur seal.

Geographic distribution. North Pacific Ocean and Bearing Sea.

Significant references. Ferris (1934: 481, synonymy, description, figures, hosts); Ferris (1951: 81, synonymy, figures, hosts); Miller (1971: 670, scanning electron microscopy of antennae); Kim (1971: 286, detailed descriptions and illustrations of adults and nymphs); Kim (1972: 2027, population dynamics); Kim et al. (1974: 281, mercury contamination); Kim (1975: 504, ecology; adaptation; population dynamics); Lyons et al. (1978: 463, control by pesticides); Kim et al. (1986: 52, redescription, figures, biology); Kim (1987: 230, figures of egg and all nymphal stages); Durden & Musser (1994a: 8, synonymy, hosts, distribution); Light et al. (2010: 296, 298, phylogeny).

Remarks. Kim (1971: 286) refers to a “ Holotype male” but Ferris (1916b: 368) did not designate a holotype, he only wrote “ Types, a mature male and a mature female” and then a “ paratype ” from another source. Ferris’s statement cannot be taken as designating a holotype; therefore they are all syntypes.

Jellison (1952: 274) reported two Arctic foxes ( Alopex pribilofensis (Merriam 1902)) with Proechinophthirus fluctus originating from northern fur seals, due to the foxes’ habit of feeding on dead seals.