Lunaceps incerta sedis

Gustafsson, Daniel R. & Olsson, Urban, 2012, 3377, Zootaxa 3377, pp. 1-85 : 74-75

Lunaceps incerta sedis 3

Host: Eurynorhynchus pygmeus ( Linnaeus, 1758)

Discussion: Lunaceps from Eurynorhynchus pygmeus is similar to L. falcinellus , but the only known specimens are noticeably paler than material from the other hosts of L. falcinellus , tend to have fewer posterior marginal setae in the female genitalia, and the lateral sides of the abdominal segments are more divergent posteriorly, making them much broader. However, as all studied material is from one collection event, we cannot rule out that these differences are due to the preservation process.

Eurynorhynchus pygmeus is among the rarest of the Lunaceps hosts ( IUCN, 2011c), and the Lunaceps population, if distinct from other Lunaceps species , should perhaps be considered as endangered as its host, and should ideally be included in conservation programs for the hosts, unless the recent population decline in E. pygmeus (e.g., Zöckler et al., 2010) has already driven its lice to extinction. Only one louse species ( Haematopinus oliveri Mishra and Singh, 1978 ) is included in the IUCN Red List (IUCN, 2011); however, others have been suggested ( Perez and Palma, 2001; Whiteman and Parker, 2005), and many have already been lost in recent times ( Mey, 1990; Gompper and Williams, 1998; Mey, 2005).