Reticulipeurus (Forcipurellus) nitzschi Kéler, 1958

Gustafsson, Daniel R. & Zou, Fasheng, 2023, Species of Reticulipeurus Kéler, 1958 (Phthiraptera, Ischnocera, Oxylipeurus- complex) parasitic on species of Arborophila, with description of a new subgenus and three new species, Zootaxa 5284 (3), pp. 496-520 : 503

Reticulipeurus (Forcipurellus) nitzschi Kéler, 1958

( Figs 9–16 , 44 )

Reticulipeurus nitzschi Kéler, 1958: 333 , figs 14, 16, 43, 52.

Oxylipeurus nitzschi ( Kéler, 1958) ; Price et al. 2003: 204.

Type host. Arborophila torqueola torqueola (Valenciennes, 1825) —hill partridge.

Type locality. Sikkim, India .

Other host. Arborophila torqueola millardi (Baker, 1921) , new host record.

Description. Preantennal head broadly rounded ( Fig. 11 ). Male scape longer than female ( Fig. 12 ), much wider and with basal section bulging; male pedicel slightly curved; male flagellomere I with distal extension. Head chaetotaxy as in Fig. 11 . Lateral margins of temples more or less parallel in male. Thoracic and abdominal segments and chaetotaxy as in Figs 9–10 . Distal abdomen of male as in Fig. 44 ; sternal plate VII apparently completely fused to subgenital plate; stylus short, spatulate; distal margin of segment XI slightly concave, lateral corners not extended distally. Male genitalia as in Figs 13–15 . Distal rugosity of mesosome fine, extensive. Ventral sclerite with concave anterior margin and two visible gpmes on each side. Gonopore does not approach distal margin of mesosome. Parameres slender, slightly divergent distally, with somewhat rectangular heads; pst 1 in distal third of paramere. Female sternal plate VII without median bulge on distal margin ( Fig. 16 ). Median bulge of vulval margin slight, with 3–6 vss on each side (3 in specimen from type host subspecies, 4–6 in specimens from A. t. millardi); lateral lobes with 17–25 long, slender vms on each side (apparently 17–20 in single specimen from type host subspecies, but partially obscured by gut content; 22–25 in specimens from A. t. millardi). Lateral margin of claspers with 7–9 lateral setae on each side (no difference in specimens from different host subspecies). Measurements as in Table 1 .

Type material examined. Ex Arborophila torqueola torqueola . Paratypes: 2♁, Sikkim [ India], May 1896, R . Meinertzhagen , 3611, NHMUK010682524 ( NHMUK). 1♀ , Assam [ India], Nov. 1896, R . Meinertzhagen , 3608, NHMUK010682523 ( NHML) .

Non-type material examined. Ex A. torqueola millardi : 2♀, Central Himalayas [= India?], Nov. 1900, R . Meinertzhagen , 3606, NHMUK010682718 ( NHML) .

Remarks. Specimens from both host subspecies are very similar, but many measurements of females from the different host subspecies do not overlap; moreover, there are differences in the female genital chaetotaxy. More specimens need to be examined to establish whether these size differences fall within the range of intraspecific variation, or if populations from different host subspecies should be regarded as different species. We here tentatively include lice from both host subspecies in the same species. All illustrations are based on specimens from the type host.

Figures

FIGURES 9–10. Reticulipeurus (Forcipurellus) nitzschi Kéler, 1958. 9, male habitus, dorsal and ventral views. 10, female habitus, dorsal and ventral views.

FIGURES 11–16. Reticulipeurus (Forcipurellus) nitzschi Kéler, 1958. 11, male head, dorsal and ventral view. 12, female antenna, ventral view. 13, male genitalia, dorsal view. 14, male genitalia, ventral view. 15, male paramere, dorsal view. 16, female subgenital plate, vulval margin, and terminalia, ventral view.

FIGURES 40–44. Distal ends of male abdomens, dorsal and ventral views. 40, Reticulipeurus (Forcipurellus) bracatus new species. 41, Reticulipeurus (Forcipurellus) diki new species. 42, Reticulipeurus (Forcipurellus) formosanus (Uchida, 1917). 43, Reticulipeurus (Forcipurellus) longistylus new species. 44, Reticulipeurus (Forcipurellus) nitzschi Kéler, 1958. All drawings are to the same scale.