Philopterus crassipes (Burmeister, 1838)

Sychra, Oldrich, Palma, Ricardo L., Saxena, Arun K., Ahmad, Aftab, Bansal, Nayanci & Adam, Costică, 2011, Chewing lice of the genus Philopterus (Phthiraptera: Philopteridae) from drongos (Passeriformes: Dicruridae), Zootaxa 2868, pp. 51-61 : 58-59

Philopterus crassipes (Burmeister, 1838)

( Figs. 8–10 , 21–22 , 32 )

Docophorus crassipes Burmeister, 1838: 425 .

Philopterus crassipes (Burmeister, 1838) ; Hopkins & Clay, 1952: 282.

Type host: Nucifraga caryocatactes (Linnaeus)

Material examined. 3 males ex Dicrurus remifer , THAILAND: Chanthaburi, Khao Soi Dao Tai, 4800 m, 4III.1966 (number MAPS 4089) deposited in KCEM.

Remarks. Our identification of these specimens as P. crassipes is based on the redescription given by Price & Hellenthal (1998: 796). Although they agree in most of the key features, these males have fewer tergal setae, as follows [tergal setae counts given by Price & Hellenthal (1998) are in parenthesis]: II, 14–15 (18–24); III, 15–16 (19– 32); IV, 15–17 (19–32); V, 16–17 (19–32); VI, 14–16 (19–32); VII, 13–15 (17–26); VIII, 8–10 (10–18). Furthermore, the genitalia of the specimens examined have lateral emarginations in the distal end of the basal apodeme ( Figs. 9–10 ).

The three males examined have lateral sternites on VI as in P. trabecula . However, they differ from the latter species by a number of key characters, such as (1) long dorsal submarginal setae (about 0.17); (2) coni short (about 0.05) and curved downwards ( Fig. 21 ); (3) dorsal anterior head plate as in Fig. 22 ; (3) male genitalia (compare Fig. 10 with Fig. 7 ); and (4) larger dimensions (especially TW and HL).

Considering that most hosts are parasitised by only one species of Philopterus ( Price et al. 2003: 336) , and that Dicrurus remifer is a regular and natural host for Philopterus trabecula , we believe that these males are stragglers or contaminants from one of the several hosts of P. crassipes ( Price et al. 2003: 213) . One of those hosts, Dendrocitta vagabunda (Latham) , occupies a large geographical range covering all of mainland India up to the Himalayas, and a broad south-eastern band into Burma ( Myanmar), Laos, and Thailand (del Hoyo et al. 2009). Therefore, it is possible that a D. remifer from Thailand may have acquired these P. crassipes from a specimen of D. vagabunda , where these two host species overlap in their distribution.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 10. 1 – 4: Philopterus kalkalichi: 1 — male, dorso-ventral view; 2 — male sternite VI and subgenital plate; 3 — male genitalia; 4 — detail of distal male genitalia. 5 – 7: Philopterus trabecula: 5 — male sternite VI and subgenital plate; 6 — male genitalia; 7 — detail of distal male genitalia. 8 – 10: Philopterus crassipes: 8 — male sternite VI and subgenital plate; 9 — male genitalia; 10 — detail of distal male genitalia. Scales 0.50 mm (Fig. 1), 0.10 mm (Figs. 2 – 3, 5 – 6, 8 – 9), 0.05 mm (Figs. 4, 7, 10).

FIGURES 11 – 22. 11 – 14: Philopterus kalkalichi: 11 — female head, dorso-ventral view; 12 — conus; 13 — female subgenital plate; 14 — dorsal anterior head plate. 15 – 20: Philopterus trabecula: 15 — female head, dorso-ventral view; 16 — conus (female, slide 4638); 17 — conus (male, slide 3913); 18 — conus (female, slide 4645); 19 — dorsal anterior head plate; 20 — female subgenital plate. 21 – 22: Philopterus crassipes: 21 — conus; 22 — dorsal anterior head plate. Scales 0.50 mm (Fig. 11, 15), 0.10 mm (Figs. 13 – 14, 19 – 20, 22), 0.05 mm (Figs. 12, 16 – 18, 21).

FIGURES 31 – 32. Male, dorso-anterior part of head (including hyaline margin): 31 — Philopterus petrescuae; 32 — Philopterus