Guimaraesiella (Cicchinella), 2019

Gustafsson, Daniel R., Clayton, Dale H. & Bush, Sarah E., 2019, Twelve new species of Guimaraesiella (Phthiraptera: Ischnocera: Philopteridae) from “ babblers ” (Passeriformes: Leiothrichidae, Pellorneidae, Timaliidae) with a description of a new subgenus and a key to its species, Zootaxa 4543 (4), pp. 451-497 : 454

Guimaraesiella (Cicchinella) species groups

Based on the shape of the preantennal area, the detailed structure of the male genitalia, the thoracic and abdominal chaetotaxy and the female subgenital plate, we divide the subgenus Guimaraesiella (Cicchinella) into three different species groups. The three types of nodi of the distal mesosome of the male genitalia are as follows: (1) triangular nodi are marginal throughout most or all of their length, and typically protrude laterally to form angular extensions in the proximal end; (2) elongated nodi only reach the margin of the mesosome in their distal end, and do not form angular extensions; (3) arched nodi are submarginal throughout most of their length, but reach the mesosomal margin proximally, near the rugose nodi.

These species groups are erected based on shared morphological characters that make the identification of species easier but, ultimately, these groups may not be monophyletic.