Brueelia galapagensis ( Kellogg & Kuwana, 1902 )

Palma, Ricardo L. & Peck, Stewart B., 2013, <strong> An annotated checklist of parasitic lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera) from the Galápagos Islands </ strong>, Zootaxa 3627 (1), pp. 1-87 : 31-33

Brueelia galapagensis ( Kellogg & Kuwana, 1902)

( Fig. 8 )

Docophorus galapagensis Kellogg & Kuwana, 1902: 464 , pl. 28, fig. 4.

Nirmus galapagensis Kellogg & Kuwana, 1902: 471 , pl. 29, fig. 5. Preoccupied by Docophorus galapagensis Kellogg & Kuwana, 1902: 464 .

Docophorus galapagensis Kellogg & Kuwana, 1902 ; Kellogg 1906: 317.

Nirmus galapagensis Kellogg & Kuwana, 1902 ; Kellogg 1906: 317.

Degeeriella galapagensis ( Kellogg & Kuwana, 1902) ; Harrison 1916: 113.

Philopterus galapagensis ( Kellogg & Kuwana, 1902) ; Thompson 1939: 17.

Brüelia galapagensis ( Kellogg & Kuwana, 1902: 464) ; Hopkins 1951: 375.

Brüelia galapagensis ( Kellogg & Kuwana, 1902: 471) ; Hopkins 1951: 376. Preoccupied by Brüelia galapagensis ( Kellogg & Kuwana, 1902: 464) .

Brueelia galapagensis ( Kellogg & Kuwana, 1902) ; Clay in Linsley & Usinger 1966: 129.

Brueelia sp. ; Parker, Whiteman & Miller 2006: 630.

Lectotype ♂ in EMEC ( Hopkins 1951: 375).

Type host: Geospiza fuliginosa Gould, 1837 , in error (see Remarks).

Galápagos hosts: Nesomimus parvulus parvulus (Gould, 1837) ; Nesomimus parvulus barringtoni Rothschild,

1898; Nesomimus parvulus personatus Ridgway, 1890 ; Nesomimus parvulus bauri Ridgway, 1894 ;

Nesomimus trifasciatus (Gould, 1837) ; Nesomimus macdonaldi Ridgway, 1890 ; Nesomimus melanotis

(Gould, 1837).

Galápagos localities: Isla Wolf; Isla Pinta; Isla Marchena; Isla Genovesa; Isla Fernandina; Isla Isabela; Isla Rábida; Isla Santa Cruz; Isla Santa Fé; Isla San Cristóbal; Isla Gardner (near Isla Floreana); Isla Gardner (near Isla Española); Isla Española.

Galápagos references: Kellogg & Kuwana (1902); Kellogg (1906); Kellogg (1908: 14, 25); Thompson (1939: 76); Harrison (1916: 113); Hopkins (1951); Linsley & Usinger (1966); Parker, Whiteman & Miller (2006); Štefka et al. (2011: 286); Sari et al. (2012: 3).

Other significant references: Hopkins & Clay (1952: 56); Price et al. (2003: 155).

Material examined: 117 males, 126 females and 72 nymphs (35 samples, EMEC, MONZ) .

Remarks: This is an endemic species and the only Brueelia parasitic on all Galápagos mockingbirds. Hopkins (1951: 375) was misled by the great number of Brueelia galapagensis in the Kellogg Collection labelled with names of several finch species as hosts, and designated a lectotype from Geospiza fuliginosa . However, extensive collections made during the 1992 Galápagos Expedition and by others from the four species of Nesomimus (35 mockingbirds) include Brueelia galapagensis only. Furthermore, B. galapagensis was not found on any of the 12 species of finch (265 birds) searched for lice during the 1992 Galápagos Expedition.

From the Kellogg Collection, we have identified as Brueelia galapagensis four males and 10 females from three Nesomimus species : N. parvulus , N. macdonaldi and N. melanotis . Records from other hosts reported by Kellogg & Kuwana (1902: 474–475) and Kellogg (1906: 317) are regarded as the result of contaminations (see Palma 1994b). Our record of B. galapagensis from N. trifasciatus is a new host-louse association. An unfortunate error was made by Price et al. (2003: 155) regarding the hosts for B. galapagensis : instead of listing Nesomimus parvulus , N. macdonaldi and N. melanotis as recorded hosts, they only listed N. trifasciatus , a host not yet recorded from this louse at that time.

Figures

FIGURE 8. Brueelia galapagensis (Kellogg & Kuwana, 1902). A: male. B: female (Host: Nesomimus parvulus).