Phalacropsylla allos Wagner, 1936

Acosta, Roxana & Hastriter, Michael W., 2017, A review of the flea genus Phalacropsylla Rothschild, 1915 (Siphonaptera, Ctenophthalmidae, Neopsyllinae, Phalacropsyllini) with new host and distributional records, ZooKeys 675, pp. 27-43 : 27-28

Phalacropsylla allos Wagner, 1936

Phalacropsylla allos Wagner, 1936: 657.

Phalacropsylla monticola Augustson, 1941a: 144-145, 1941b: 156.

Phalacropsylls allos Ewing & Fox, 1943: 85; Jellison & Good, 1942: 124, 161; Jellison et al., 1943: 6, 17.

Phalacropsylla monticola Hubbard, 1943: 6.

Phalacropsylla allos Stanford, 1944: 176; Costa Lima & Hathaway, 1946: 184.

Phalacropsylla monticola Costa Lima & Hathaway, 1946: 184; Hubbard, 1947: 339.

Phalacropsylla allos Hubbard, 1947: 340-341; Holland, 1949: 9; Tipton, 1950: 65; Williams & Hoff, 1951: 313; Jellison et al., 1953: 613.

Phalacropsylla monticola Jellison et al., 1953: 613.

Phalacropsylla allos Stark, 1958: 82; Wiseman, 1955: 25; Smit & Wright, 1965: 10; Beck, 1966: 77; Hopkins & Rothschild, 1966: 301; Senger, 1966: 106; Allred, 1968: 77; Douglas, 1969: 493; Stark & Kinney, 1969: 290-293; Tipton & Saunders, 1971: 18; Weindner, 1972: 75; Haas et al., 1973: 284-285; Jellison & Senger, 1973: 67; Lewis, 1974: 153; Nelson and Smith, 1980: 274; Eads and Campos, 1982: 243-245; Campos et al., 1985: 266, 269; Holland, 1985: 125-126; Thomas, 1988: 89; Lewis et al., 1988: 91; Baird & Saunders, 1992: 9; Fagerlund et al., 2001: 95; Ford et al., 2004: 24-25, 30-31; Acosta & Morrone, 2013: 335-336, 338, 340-342.

Diagnosis.

Phalocropsylla allos males lack a well-defined sinus in the apico-ventral margin of the basimere above acetabulum (Fig. 2). This feature is shared only with P. oregonensis (Fig. 4) and P. morlani , but may be distinguished from the former by the absence of long bent spiniform setae on the apical margin of the distal arm of S-IX and from P. morlani by the presence of a hyaline lobe on anterior margin of distal arm of S-IX (Fig. 3) and an acutely pointed crochet. The lobe on the caudal margin of S-VII of the females of P. allos and P. nivalis is each longer than broad, whereas the lobes of other species are broader than long. The ratio of P. allos is 1.9 times as long as broad, whereas P. nivalis is only 1.5 times as long as broad.

Material examined.

USA: Arizona, San Francisco Mts., 18 X 1989, G.E. Haas, 4♂, 4♀ (BYUC). California, Siskiyou County, N. cinerea (Ord) nest, 9 XII 1976, B.C. Nelson, 4♂, 2♀; N. cinerea , 31 I 1980, C.R. Smith, 1♂ (USNM). Idaho, Idaho Falls, National Reactor Testing Site (NRTS), Bonneville County, N. cinerea , 20 VIII 1967, D.E. Beck (1♂, 1♀); same data except rodent nest, 17 II 1967, (1♂); Onychomys leucogaster (Wied-Neuwied), 22 IX 1966, 2♀ (BYUC). Montana, Jefferson County, Morrison cave near White Hall, Neotoma sp., 31 XII 1940, H.B. Mills, 1 ♂; Ennis, in cave, Neotoma nest, II 1941, W.L. Jellison and G.M. Kohls, 1 ♂, 2♀ (CMNH); 1♂, 1♀ (BYUC). Nevada, Clark County, Spring Mts., N. cinerea nest, 5 VI 1985, 2♂, 2♀ (BYUC). New Mexico, Sandoval County, W edge Valle Grande, 2637 m, Jemez Mts., N. cinerea nest, 18 IX 1970, Animal Ecology Research Unit (AERU), 20♂, 16♀; Cibola County, N side Ice Cave Canyon, 2424 m, Jemez Mts., N. cinerea nest, 21 IX 1970, AERU, 2♂, 1♀; Sierra County, SW side Cerro del Medio, 2652 m, Jemez Mts., N. cinerea nest, 21 IX 1970, 1♂, 2♀; W edge Valle Grande, 2622 m, Jemez Mts., N. cinerea ♂, 25 IX 1970, 1♂; SE corner Baca location no. 1, Line 17, rocks with Dome Meadow, Neotoma mexicana Baird ♀, 16 X 1970, 1♂; Lincoln County, midden mix, 6 VIII 1991, G.E. Haas, 2♂, 1♀ (BYUC). Utah, Beaver County, Delano Ranger Station, Peromyscus maniculatus (Wagner), 25 VI 1957, D.M. Allred, 1♂, 1♀; Utah County, Provo, woodrat nest, 13 XI 1948, N.C. Acraia, 11♂, 13♀, (BYUC); same data except 2♂, 3♀ (CMNH), N. cinerea , 12 XI 1949, Allan Dotty, 1♂, 1♀ (USNM); Provo, Rock Canyon, N. cinerea nest, 15 IX 1949, V.J. Tipton, 3♂, 1♀; Provo, woodrat nest, 13 XI 1948, N.C. Acraia, 1♂, 2♀, (CMNH); N. cinerea nest, 12 XI 1949, A. Doty, 14♂, 21♀; Provo, Rock Canyon, N. cinerea nest, 13 XI 1948, 1♀; Provo, woodrat nest, 6 XI 1948, N.C. Acraia, 1♀; Provo, Rock, Canyon, N. cinerea nest, 24 XI 1949, D.M. Allred, 4♀; Provo, Rock Canyon, N. cinerea nest, 24 II 1951, D.E. Beck and D.M. Allred, 3♂; Provo, Buckley’s Mine, N. cinerea nest, 21 X 1950, D.M. Allred, 1♀; East of Provo, N. cinerea nest, 30 III 1951, D.E. Beck and D.M. Allred, 4♂, 3♀; Provo, N. cinerea , 25 XI 1948, N.C. Acraia, 2♂, 3♀ (BYUC).

Remarks.

Phalacropsylla allos is the most widely spread species of Phalacropsylla , occurring in southern British Columbia, Arizona, central to northern California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming (Fig. 1). It is sympatric with P. paradisea in Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. The vast majority of specimens examined were recorded from N. cinerea throughout it range, with single records from N. mexicana (1♂), Onychomys leucogaster (2♀), and P. maniculatus (1♂, 1♀). No other species of Phalacropsylla have been collected from N. cinerea (Table 1). Most of the specimens from nests of N. cinerea were collected during the cooler fall and winter months from September through February. Only one collection of three males was reported in a warmer period (June) and this site was inside a cool mine shaft (Buckley Mine) located at an elevation of 2896 m. We did not examine specimens of P. allos reported by Eads and Campos (1982) from N. mexicana (1♂), Peromyscus difficilis (J.A. Allen) (3♂, 1♀), P. maniculatus (1♂, 1♀), Reithrodontomys megalotis (Baird) (1♀) from Larimer County, Colorado; however, these specimens reported from the eastern slopes as P. allos by Eads and Campos (1982) were collected from March through August during the warmer months at elevations from 1600-1900 m. Although they collected during all months of the year, P. allos specimens were not collected from September through February. This seasonal disparity is enigmatic and warrants future collecting and studies.