A NEW FEATHER MITE SPECIES OF THE GENUS PROTEROTHRIX GAUD (ASTIGMATA, PROCTOPHYLLODIDAE) FROM FICEDULA ZANTHOPYGIA (HAY) (PASSERIFORMES: MUSCICAPIDAE) IN CHINA

About authors:

Sergey V. Mironov, e-mail

Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint Petersburg, Russia

Diao W., College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, 105 North Xisanhuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100037, China

Zhang C., College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, 105 North Xisanhuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100037, China


Zhang Y., College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, 105 North Xisanhuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100037, China

Yan Zh., College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, 105 North Xisanhuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100037, China

Annotation:

A new feather mite species Proterothrix megacaula sp. n. is described from the yellow-rumped flycatcher Ficedula zanthopygia (Hay, 1847) (Passeriformes: Muscicapidae) from a suburb of Beijing, China. The new species clearly differs from all known species of the genus Proterothrix Gaud, 1968 by the absence of dorsal setae c1 in both sexes and by having an extremely long whip-like aedeagus in males, the length of which is comparable to the length of the idiosoma. Brief notes on the systematics of the genus Proterothrix are given. Formerly known species of the genus are provisionally arranged into two species groups, wolffi and schizothyra; the new species is a sole representative of the megacaula group. Pterodectes (Proterothrix) hymenostomus Gaud,
1968, formerly placed by Park and Atyeo (1971) in the genus Proterothrix, is removed to the genus Neodectes Park et Atyeo, 1971 and given a new name, Neodectes hymenostomus (Gaud, 1968) comb. n.

Bibliography:

Atyeo, W.T. 1973. Feather mites. In: McClure H.E. and
Ratanaworabhan N. (Eds.). Some ectoparasites of
the birds of Asia. Jintana Printing Ldt., Bangkok, p.
54–78.

Dickinson, E.C. 2003. The Howard and Moore Complete
Checklist of the Birds of the World, 3rd Edition.
Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J., 1056 pp.

Evans, G.O. 1992. Principles of Acarology. CAB Inter-
national, Wallingford. 563 pp.

Gaud, J. 1952. Sarcoptides plumicoles des oiseaux de
Madagascar. Mémoires de l’Institut scientifique de
Madagascar, Séries A, 7: 81–107.

Gaud, J. 1962. Sarcoptiformes plumicoles (Analgesoi-
dea) parasites d’oiseaux de l’Ile Rennell. The Nat-
ural History of Rennell Island, British Solomon
Islands, 4: 31–51.

Gaud, J. 1968. Sarcoptiformes plumicoles (Analgoidea)
parasites d’oiseaux de l’Ile Rennell. The Natural
History of Rennell Island, British Solomon Islands,
5: 121–151.

Gaud, J. 1979. Sarcoptiformes plumicoles des oiseaux
Coraciiformes d’Afrique. II. Parasites des Alcedi-
nidae. Revue de Zoologie africaines, 93: 245–266.

Gaud, J. and Atyeo, W.T. 1996. Feather mites of the
World (Acarina, Astigmata): the supraspecific taxa.
Musée Royal de l’Afrique Centrale, Annales, Sci-
ences Zoologiques, 277, Pt. 1, 193 pp.; Pt. 2. 436 pp.

Mironov, S.V. 2006. Feather mites of the genus Monte-
sauria Oudemans (Astigmata: Proctophyllodidae)
associated with starlings (Passeriformes: Sturni-
dae) in the Indo-Malayan region, with notes on
systematics of the genus. Acarina, 14: 21–40.

Mironov, S.V. and Fain, A. 2003. New species of the
feather mite subfamily Pterodectinae (Astigmata:
Proctophyllodidae) from African passerines (Aves:
Passeriformes). Bulletin de la Société Royale Belge
d’Entomologie, 139: 75–91

Park, C.K. and Atyeo, W.T. 1971. A generic revision of
the Pterodectinae, a new subfamily of feather mites
(Sarcoptiformes: Analgoidea). Bulletin of the Uni-
versity of Nebraska State Museum, 9: 39–88.

Sugimoto, M. 1941. Studies on the Formosan mites (Fourth
Report) (On the feather mites, Analgesidae Can-
estrini, 1892, Part II.). Sylvia (Journal of the Taihoku
Society of Agriculture and Forestry), 5: 129–149.

Trouessart, E.L. (1884) 1885. Note sur le classification
des Analgésiens et diagnoses d’espèces et de gen-
res nouveaux. Bulletin de la Société d’Etudes scien-
tifiques d’Angers, 14: 46–89.

Trouessart, E.L. (1898) 1899. Diagnoses préliminaires
d’espèces nouvelles d’Acariens plumicoles. Addi-
tions et corrections à la sous-famille des Analgés-
inés. Bulletin de la Société d’Etudes scientifiques
d’Angers, 28 : 1–62.

Valim, M.P. and Hernandes, F.A. 2006. Redescription
of four species of the feather mite genus Ptero-
dectes Robin, 1877 (Acari: Proctophyllodidae: Pter-
odectinae) described by Herbert F. Berla. Acarina,
14: 41–55.