Alaudicola Mironov, 1996

Mironov, Sergey V. & Galloway, Terry D., 2021, Feather mites of the subfamily Pterodectinae (Acariformes: Proctophyllodidae) from passerines and kingfishers in Canada, Zootaxa 5016 (1), pp. 1-55 : 37-38

Genus Alaudicola Mironov, 1996

Type species: Proctophyllodes (Pterodectes) bilobatus Robin, 1877 , by original designation.

Diagnosis. Both sexes. Moderately elongated pterodectines. Full set of hysteronosomal setae. Full set of leg setae occurring in pterodectines, or setae sR III can be absent. Setae c2 on humeral shields or on striated tegument. Setae c3 spiculiform.

Male. Opisthosomal lobes of moderate length, 1.5–2 times longer than wide at base, rounded, truncated or slightly attenuate apically, apices with or without small membranous denticles. Setae ps3 lateral or posterolateral to adanal suckers. Bases of opisthosomal lobes crossed by opisthoventral shields forming translobar apodemes and bearing setae ps3. Ventral surface of opisthosomal lobes distally without sclerotization. Setae h3 spiculiform. Aedeagus sword-shaped, not extending beyond lobar apices. Genital papillae at level of genital arch base and usually strongly reduced.

Female. Setae ps2, ps3 arranged in wide trapezoid, always filiform; setae ps2 can be absent. Macrosetae h2 long whip-shaped, gradually attenuate to filiform apices.

Remark. In contrast to the previous three genera, Alaudicola belongs to the Montesauria generic complex (Mironov 2009; Mironov et al. 2010, 2012), representatives of which were previously known from the Old World. To date, the genus Alaudicola has included four species associated with oscine passerines; three of them are specific to larks ( Alaudidae ) and one is known from the Western Black-eared Wheatear, Oenanthe hispanica (Linnaeus, 1758) (Muscicapidae) ( Gaud & Atyeo 1996; Mironov 1996, 2006).

Included species: Alaudicola bilobatus ( Robin, 1877) , A. bureschi (Vassilev, 1958) , A. eremophila sp. n., A. rosickyi (Cerny, 1963) , and A. holothyra ( Gaud, 1952) .