Laemobothrion (Laemobothrion) maximum ( Scopoli, 1763 )

Gonza ́ Lez-Acun, Daniel A. & Palma, Ricardo L., 2021, An annotated catalogue of bird lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera) from Chile, Zootaxa 5077 (1), pp. 1-151 : 9

Laemobothrion (Laemobothrion) maximum ( Scopoli, 1763)

Pediculus maximus Scopoli, 1763: 382 .

Liotheum (Laemobothrion) giganteum Nitzsch, 1818: 301 .

Liotheum giganteum ; Gervais 1849: 104.

Liotheum giganteum Nitzs. ; Gay 1854: pl. Anoplureos figs 10a–b.

Laemobothrion maximum ( Scopoli, 1763) ; Eichler 1941a: 363, fig. 28.

Laemobothrion maximum ( Scopoli, 1763) ; Eichler 1942: 58, fig. 4.

Laemobothrion maximum ( Scopoli, 1763) ; Hopkins & Clay 1952: 185.

Laemobothrion maximum ( Scopoli, 1763) ; Nelson & Price 1965: 253, figs 1–2, 8, 12, 16–18.

Laemobothrion (Laemobothrion) maximum ( Scopoli, 1763) ; Price et al. 2003: 81.

Neotype in ZFMK (see Eichler 1942: 59; Clay & Hopkins 1951: 5).

Type host: Buteo buteo insularum Floericke, 1903 .

Chilean host: “Pillo” (see Remarks below).

Other hosts: Over 50 species of the genera Accipiter , Aquila , Aviceda , Butastur , Buteo , Caracara , Circaetus , Circus, Gymnogenys , Haliaeetus , Haliastur , Hieraaetus , Ictinia , Melierax , Milvus , Parabuteo , Pernis and Polemaetus (see Nelson & Price 1965: 255).

Chilean localities: Not given.

Geographic distribution: All continents, except Antarctica.

Chilean references: Gervais (1849); Gay (1854).

Other significant references: Clay & Hopkins (1951: 5); Nelson & Price (1965); Lakshminarayana (1970: 132, figs 2a, 4c); Clay (1976: 537); Martín-Mateo (2002: 137, figs 43C, H, 44); Price et al. (2003).

Remarks: Despite the number of Chilean hosts that may be parasitised by Laemobothrion maximum , this large louse has not been reported from Chile since the 19th century. The vernacular name “Pillo”, given by Gervais (1849) as a possible host of this louse, does not appear to apply to any species of the Accipitriformes , but to the stork Ciconia maguari (Gmelin, 1789) , which is rare in Chile and is not known to harbour any species of Laemobothrion (see Price et al. 2003: 300). Prevalence and intensity of infestation in species of Laemobothrion are often low. Despite their large size, extensive examination of a variety of potential hosts may be required before L. maximum will be reported again in Chile.