Penenirmus albiventris (Scopoli, 1763)

Sychra, Oldřich, Kounek, Filip, Papoušek, Ivo, Ćapek, Miroslav, Cárdenas-Callirgos, Jorge Manuel, Franco, Sebastian & Literák, Ivan, 2014, Chewing lice (Phthiraptera: Amblycera et Ischnocera) from wrens (Passeriformes: Troglodytidae), with description of a new species of Myrsidea, Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 54 (1), pp. 1-27 : 25-26

Penenirmus albiventris (Scopoli, 1763)

Reports. [1] ADAM (2008: 366); [2] BALÁT (1958: 403); [3] BALÁT (1977:51); [4] BLAGOVESHTCHENSKY (1940: 65); [5] BLAGOVESHTCHENSKY (1951: 296); [6] BROWN & WILK (1944: 128); [7] CARRIKER (1956: 34); [8] CICCHINO (1980: 7); [9] CLAY & HOPKINS (1951: 29); [10] HACKMAN (1994: 56); [11] KRAVTSOVA (1998); [12] LYAKHOVA & KOTTI (2011: 373); [13] MEY (2004: 105); [14] OVERGAARD (1942: 15); [15] PALMA & JENSEN (2005: 56); [16] PETERS (1936: 20); [17] RÉKASI (1993: 87); [18] TEBUEVA (2011); [19] TIMMERMANN (1950: 2); [20] WATERSTON (1915: 32); [21] ZŁOTORZYCKA (1977: 72); [22] this paper.

Hosts. PALAEARCTIC REGION: EUROPE: Troglodytes troglodytes borealis Fischer, 1861 – Faroe Islands [15, 20]; T. t. indigenus Clancey, 1937 – British Isles [9, 20]; T. t. islandicus Hartert, 1907 – Iceland [14, 19]; T. t. troglodytes (Linnaeus, 1758) – Bulgaria [2], Czech Republic [3, 22], Finland [10], Germany [13, 20], Hungary [17], Poland [21], Romania [1], Slovakia [3, 20]; T. t. zetlandicus Hartert, 1910 – Shetland Islands [20]. ASIA: Troglodytes troglodytes hyrcanus Zarudny & Loudon, 1905 – Azerbaijan: Talysh [4], Russia: Ciscaucasia [12], North-Caucasus – Stavropol Region [18]; T. t. tianschanicus Sharpe, 1882 – Kyrgyzstan [11], Tajikistan [5].

NEARCTIC REGION: Troglodytes aedon Vieillot, 1809 [ aedon group] – Canada: Alberta [6], USA: New York [16]; Salpinctes obsoletus (Say, 1823) – Canada: Alberta [6].

NEOTROPICAL REGION: Troglodytes aedon audax Tschudi, 1844 [musculus group] – Peru [22]; T. a. bonariae Hellmayr, 1919 [musculus group] – Argentina [8], T. a. striatulus (Lafresnaye, 1845) [musculus group] – Colombia [7].

Remarks. OVERGAARD (1942) reported Nirmus sp. from Troglodytes troglodytes islandicus from Iceland. We agree with TIMMERMANN (1950) that this record most likely refers to Penenirmus albiventris .

PETERS (1936) and BROWN & WILK (1944) reported Philopterus subflavescens (Geoffroy, 1762) from Salpinctes obsoletus and Troglodytes aedon from New York ( USA) and Alberta ( Canada), respectively. However, as explained by CLAY & HOPKINS (1950: 269), the names used by GEOFFROY (1762) are not binominal, being rather descriptive phrases, and therefore they are invalid. Nevertheless, the name P.subflavescens has been incorrectly used as a valid species commonly occurring on passerines (e.g. PETERS 1936, SÉGUY 1944), including Penenirmus albiventris from Troglodytes troglodytes named as “ Philopterus subflavescens albiventris ” by EICHLER (1937). In our opinion, the lice reported by PETERS (1936) and BROWN & WILK (1944) may also represent Penenirmus albiventris .

CARRIKER (1956) reported Penenirmus sp. from Troglodytes aedon striatulus from Colombia as “very similar to albiventris ”. In our opinion, this record also refers to P. albiventris . However, examination of the specimens referred to by OVERGAARD (1942), PETERS (1936), BROWN & WILK (1944) and CARRIKER (1956) is necessary to confirm our tentative identifications.

BLAGOVESHTCHENSKY (1940: 65) described the new species Degeeriella longuliceps giving two species as type hosts: Troglodytes troglodytes hyrcanus from Azerbaijan and Cettia cetti (Temminck, 1820) of the family Cettiidae . Subsequently, the same author listed the same two bird species from Tajikistan as hosts of P. albiventris , placing Degeeriella longuliceps as a junior synonym (BLAGOVESHTCHENSKY 1951: 296). We agree with BLAGOVESHTCHENSKY (1951) and EMERSON (1972: 112) in that D. longuliceps from T. troglodytes is synonymous with P. albiventris . However, the true identity of the lice from Cettia cetti will remain uncertain until the specimens studied by BLAGOVESHTCHENSKY (1940, 1951) are re-examined.