The genus Myrsidea Waterston (Phthiraptera: Menoponidae) from tyrantflycatchers (Passeriformes: Tyrannidae), with descriptions of 13 new species
Author
Price, Roger D.
Author
Hellenthal, Ronald A.
Author
Dalgleish, Robert C.
text
Zootaxa
2005
1048
1
20
journal article
50930
10.5281/zenodo.169922
411f7731-a3e1-430d-bf47-e6a4ad0685bf
11755326
169922
Myrsidea stenodesma
(Carriker)
(
Fig. 3
)
Menopon stenodesmum
Carriker 1903
: 184
.
Type
host:
Empidonax atriceps
Salvin, Black
–capped Flycatcher.
Female.
Metanotum and dorsal abdomen as in
Fig. 3
. Metanotum with 15 marginal setae. Tergites I–III enlarged, with II–VI having slight medioposterior convexity and VII–VIII unmodified. Tergal setae: I, 30; II, 40; III, 33; IV–V, 35–36; VI, 39; VII, 30; VIII, 20. Postspiracular setae with some missing or broken, but those on II and VII–VIII apparently very long, much shorter than on I and III–VI. Sternal setae: II, each aster with 4 setae, other setae obscured; III, 28; IV–V, 32–34; VI, 27; VII, 14; VIII–IX of subgenital plate, 21. Anus with 31 dorsal fringe setae, 34 ventral. Dimensions: TW, 0.45; HL & PW, 0.30; PSL, 0.10; MW, 0.45; MSL, 0.15; AWIV, 0.60; ANW, 0.19; TL, 1.50.
Male.
Metanotum with obscured marginal setae. Tergal setae: I, 28; II–VI, 35–37; VII, 32; VIII, 24. Sternal setae: II, each aster with 4 setae, 33 other setae; III–VI, 30–35; VII, 18; VIII, obscured. Genital sac sclerite obscured. Dimensions: TW, 0.42; HL & PW, 0.28; PSL, 0.10; MW, 0.35; MSL, 0.14; AWIV, 0.44; GL, 0.41; TL, 1.26.
Material.
Female
holotype
, male allotype of
Menopon stenodesmum
, ex
E. atriceps
,
COSTA RICA
.
Remarks.
Even with the extremely poor condition of the two
type
specimens that
Carriker (1903)
used for the description of this species, the large number of tergal and/or sternal setae for both sexes readily separates it from all other tyrannid
Myrsidea
except for
M. magnidens
. Both sexes of
M. stenodesma
,
with smaller dimensions and fewer abdominal sternal setae, are easily separated from
M. magnidens
.
Carriker (1903)
provided a description for the female and figured only that sex, with no mention of the male specimen in his
type
series; hence, that female is the
holotype
. Strangely, the male specimen carries the NMNH
holotype
number on the back of the slide. Since both sexes provide the same excellent separation from other tyrannid
Myrsidea
,
the sex of the
holotype
is of little significance.
By modern standards, Carriker was not a very good technician, even taking into consideration the primitive facilities available to him. Many specimens in his collection were attributed to the wrong host. Lice, especially menoponids, readily move from one host to another as dead birds cool when placed together in a collecting bag. Crosscontamination also may have occurred on the preparation table. In the absence of additional louse specimens, Carriker’s host determinations are best treated with caution. It is ironic, given the scathing rebuke of
Stafford (1943)
in
Carriker (1955)
, that Carriker’s own methods appear to be suspect.