Megistopoda proxima ( Séguy, 1926 )

Autino, Analía Gladys, Idoeta, Fabricio Miguel, Claps, Guillermo Luis & Barquez, Rubén Marcos, 2020, Ectoparasite insects of bats from the fields and weedlands eco-region of Argentina, Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia 60, pp. 1-9 : 3

Megistopoda proxima ( Séguy, 1926)

Pterellipsis proxima Séguy, 1926: 194 , figs. 1-6. Megistopoda proxima: Wenzel et al., 1966: 543 .

Material examined: Misiones: Estancia Prates, Barra Concepción, 28°05′S, 55°32′W, 26.iii.2011, 1 ♂ ( CMLA 759 ) on S. lilium ♀ ( FMI 274 ) ; Reserva Ecológica Tupá Puojhá

(Fachinal), 27°37′S, 55°43′W, 03.v.2010, 1 ♀ ( CMLA 749 ), 2 ♀ ( CMLA 750 , 751 ) on S. lilium ♀ ( FMI 214 ) ; Parque Provincial Cañadón de Profundidad , 27°33′S, 55°42′W, 18.xii.2009, 1 ♂ ( CMLA 760 ) on S. lilium ♂ ( FMI 161 ) ; 19.x.2009, 1 ♂ ( CMLA 761 ) and 1 ♂ ( CMLA 762 ) on S. lilium ♀ ( FMI 170 ) ; Parque Provincial Teyú Cuaré , 27°17′S, 55°35′W, 13.xii.2009, 1 ♀ ( CMLA 757 ) and 1 ♀ ( CMLA 758 ) on S. lilium ♂ ( FMI 153 ) .

Identification: Some authors consider that Megistopoda proxima is a complex of species. Wenzel (Wenzel et al., 1966) described Megistopoda theodori but later ( Wenzel, 1976) he treated it as a junior synonym of M. proxima . However, some authors such as Dick et al. (2007), Dick (2013) and Autino et al. (2018) considered M. proxima and M. theodori as different species, although they expressed that the “ proxima group” contains several species not yet described. The specimens studied here have wings exactly like those of M. proxima but, analyzing the genitalia of the males, they are totally different from that of M. proxima . As differences in the external morphology were also observed, we consider that studied specimens are members of the Megistopoda proxima complex, but that they merit the description of a new species, which is in process.

Comments: This ectoparasite is frequently found on bats of the genus Sturnira throughout its range. In Argentina, it has been cited on Sturnira erythromos (Tschudi, 1844) , S. lilium and S. oporaphilum (Tschudi, 1844) from Catamarca, Jujuy, Salta and Tucumán (Barquez et al., 1991; Autino et al., 1992, 1998, 1999, 2000b; Claps et al., 2000) and on S. lilium in Misiones (Autino et al., 2018) but cited as M. theodori .