Picicola Clay and Meinertzhagen

Price, Roger D. & Weckstein, Jason D., 2006, Picicola Clay and Meinertzhagen (Phthiraptera: Philopteridae) from jacamars and puffbirds (Piciformes: Galbulidae, Bucconidae), with descriptions of five new species, Zootaxa 1367, pp. 37-50 : 38-39

Genus Picicola Clay and Meinertzhagen

Picicola Clay and Meinertzhagen 1938:74 . Type species: Picicola praeposterus Clay and Meinertzhagen by original designation. Now recognized as P. snodgrassi (Kellogg) .

A thorough characterization of this genus may be found in the works cited by Valim and Linardi (2006). We provide here only the diagnostic characters that are pertinent to define the genus as it pertains to the jacamar and puffbird lice and serve to distinguish them as a unit from Picicola species found on various families of the suboscine Passeriformes and on the woodpeckers ( Piciformes : Picidae ).

General morphology as in Figs. 1 and 2 . Head evenly rounded anteriorly, longer than wide, with temple slightly wider than preantennal portion; with conspicuous transverse dorsal preantennal suture; with well-developed complete marginal carina; each side of temple with two long marginal setae. Thorax with small quadrangular pronotum bearing single seta at each posterior corner; metanotum with four very long setae on each side; thoracic sternal plate large, with setae as shown. Abdomen slender, much longer than wide; tergites II–IX undivided medially; postspiracular setae very long on III–VII, shorter on VIII. Tergite II with medioanterior pair of setae in addition to medioposterior tergocentral setae. Female and male subgenital plates of fused sternites VII–IX. Male genitalia with prominent inwardly-curved parameres, a median slender penis, and complex of endomeral structures.

There is only slight sexual dimorphism, which is limited to males having somewhat smaller dimensions and differences associated with the posterior abdomen. Characters cited above for the genus will not be repeated in the species descriptions.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 13. 1 – 6, Picicola striata. 1, Entire dorsoventral male. 2, Dorsoventral female terminal segments. 3, Male tergites VIII – IX. 4, Female head outline. 5, Female subgenital plate and vulval margin. 6, Male subgenital plate. 7 – 8, P. galbulica. 7, Female head outline. 8, Male genitalia. 9 – 11, P. v a l q u i i. 9, Female head outline. 10, Male subgenital plate. 11, Male genitalia. 12 – 13, P. naokii. 12, Female head outline. 13, Male subgenital plate.