Myrsidea elaeniae Price, Hellenthal and Dalgleish

Price, Roger D., Hellenthal, Ronald A. & Dalgleish, Robert C., 2005, The genus Myrsidea Waterston (Phthiraptera: Menoponidae) from tyrant­flycatchers (Passeriformes: Tyrannidae), with descriptions of 13 new species, Zootaxa 1048, pp. 1-20 : 12

Myrsidea elaeniae Price, Hellenthal and Dalgleish , new species

Type host. Elaenia flavogaster (Thunberg) , Yellow­bellied Elaenia .

Female. Dorsal thorax and abdomen much as in Fig. 11 . Metanotum with 12 marginal setae. Tergites II–III or II–IV with slight medioposterior convexity. Tergal setae: I, 8–12; II, 10–14; III, 10–15; IV–V, 9–14; VI, 7–13; VII, 8–11; VIII, usually 8, rarely 7. Postspiracular setae on III and V–VI shorter than very long postspiracular setae on adjacent segments. Sternal setae: II, each aster with 4, rarely 3, setae, 19–28 other setae; III, 16–21; IV, 27–36; V, 31–41; VI, 29–35; VII, 12–19; VIII–IX of subgenital plate, 15–20. Anus with 28–37 setae in dorsal fringe, 26–32 in ventral. Dimensions: TW, 0.44–0.46; HL, 0.29–0.33; PW, 0.27–0.30; PSL, 0.10–0.11; MW, 0.38–0.43; MSL, 0.12–0.14; AWIV, 0.51–0.57; ANW, 0.17–0.19; TL, 1.35–1.48.

Male. Metanotum with 8–10 marginal setae. Tergal setae: I, 10–11; II–III, 12–16; IV–V, 10–14; VI, 10–12; VII, 8–10; VIII, 7–9. Sternal setae: II, each aster with 4, rarely 3, setae, 20–23 other setae; III, 16–18; IV, 25–29; V–VI, 29–34; VII, 15–19; VIII, 5–6. Genital sac sclerite as in Fig. 12 . Dimensions: TW, 0.42–0.43; HL, 0.30–0.32; PW, 0.26–0.28; PSL, 0.09–0.10; MW, 0.35–0.38; MSL, 0.12–0.13; AWIV, 0.44–0.47; GL, 0.41–0.46; TL, 1.23–1.27.

Type material. Holotype female ( NMNH), ex E. flavogaster , COSTA RICA: Cota Brus, Las Cruces Biological Station, 26 Jun 1993, R. L. Fisher 655. Paratypes ( NMNH, TNHM, OSU, RCD), all ex E. flavogaster : COSTA RICA: 1 female, 1 male, same data as holotype; 6 females, 1 male, same except 18–21 Apr 1992, R. L. Fisher 50; 1 male, same except R. L. Fisher 96; 1 female, Alajuela, Cerro Montezuma, 4 May 1986, M. A. Marin 513; VENEZUELA: 1 female, Edo. Bolivar, 60 km E Sta. Elena, Jan 1987, R. C. Dalgleish; 4 females, 1 male, Bolivar, Hato San Jose, 4 Apr 1967, 12582; TRINIDAD: 2 females, Brazil Village, 11 Feb 1966, T. H. G. Aitken, TRVL 11312; 1 male, Naparima, Mayaro Road, 23 Jul 1968, E. S. Tikasingh, BM 1974­636; BELIZE: 3 females, 1 male, Toledo Distr., Rideau, 9 May 1979, C. Lyal & A. Hutson.

Remarks. The consistently 12 marginal metanotal setae separate the female from all others of this group. The male of Myrsidea elaeniae , with the genital sac sclerite similar to that in Fig. 12 , is close to M. similis and M. flaviventris of this group. It is tenuously separable from M. similis by having fewer setae on tergites VII–VIII and sternites IV–V and from M. flaviventris by differences in tergal and sternal setae counts.

Figures

FIGURES 9 – 17. 9 – 10, Myrsidea barbati. 9, Female dorsal thorax and dorsoventral abdomen. 10, Male genital sac sclerite. 11 – 12, M. similis. 11, Female dorsal thorax and abdomen. 12, Male genital sac sclerite. 13 – 14. M. contopi. 13, Male genital sac sclerite. 14, Female dorsal thorax and abdomen. 15 – 16, M. oleaginei. 15, Female dorsal thorax and dorsoventral abdomen. 16, Male genital sac sclerite. 17, M. neocinereae female dorsal thorax and dorsoventral abdomen.