Protolichus Trouessart 1884
Creators: name: Mironov, Sergey V.
name: Dabert, Jacek
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2010
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Arachnida
Astigmata
Pterolichidae
Protolichus

description: Protolichus Trouessart, 1884
Type species. Pterolichus (Protolichus) brachiatus Trouessart, 1884, by subsequent designation.
Description. Both sexes. Prodorsal shield occupying the whole pronotum and fused with scapular shields, transverse band in area of scapular setae se, si sclerotized much more weakly than remaining parts of this shield (Figs. 1 A, 2A). Hysterosoma with extensive hysteronotal shield covering almost entire hysteronotum. Humeral shields well developed with inner margin poorly expressed. Two vertical setae vi present, their bases close to each other. Distance between scapular setae se approximately equal to width of gnathosoma. Setae si and c2 spiculiform or setiform; setae c3 filiform; setae h1 absent. Cupules ia lateral or postero-lateral to bases of setae c2, situated on humeral shields; cupules im posterior to hysteronotal gland openings gl. Each tarsus (if not modified) with two minute apico-dorsal spines in proximal part of ambulacral stalk; tarsi I (in homeomorph males and females) with blunt-angular ventral margin or (in heteromorph males) variously modified; tarsi I, II approximately 1.5–2 times longer than corresponding tibiae; solenidion ω 1 closer to base of tarsi I, II than to their apices; setae ba slightly distal to corresponding solenidion ω 1; condylophores heavily developed; ambulacral discs minutely dentate on distal margin. Solenidion σ 2 of genu I present.
Male. Polymorphic, heteromorph and homeomorph forms mainly differ from each other by structure of legs I, II. Epimerites I fused into a long Y, sternum over 2/3 of total length of these epimerites. Bases of epimerites II with ball-shaped inflations. Gnathosoma trapezoidal in shape, segments of palps without lateral expansions; in heteromorph males, ventral surface of subcapitulum provided with various folds and crests; in homeomorph males, subcapitulum usually with transverse striae. Opisthosomal lobes well-developed, medium- or small-sized, longer than wide, attenuate or with obliquely cut posterior end, separated from each other by U-shaped terminal cleft; interlobar, terminal and lateral membranes absent; margin of terminal cleft heavily sclerotized with pronounced internal linear striation of cuticle, particularly in anterior half. Setae d2 setiform, short, e2 either large spiculiform or represented by macrosetae extending far beyond lobar apices; setae f2 spatulate or leaf-like, commonly with bidentate or obliquely cut apical part; setae e1 setiform, situated on lateral margins of terminal cleft; setae ps2 setiform, always longer than setae f2; setae ps1 setiform, situated on opisthosomal lobes between levels of setae h2 and h3. Genital apparatus situated usually at level of trochanters IV. Paragenital apodemes present, long, spreading from midlevel of coxal fields III to opisthosomal lobes where they are fused with anterior ends of opisthoventral shields; middle parts of apodemes distant from each other, inner margins of these parts may be connected to each other by wide transverse bridge. Genital papillae situated on inner margins of anterior parts of paragenital apodemes. Opisthoventral shields wide, covering the whole ventral surface of opisthosomal lobes and encircling anal field from posterior and lateral sides; anterior branches of opisthoventral shields with a pair of heavily sclerotized ball-shaped subtegumental cuticular thickenings. Anal suckers circular, corolla edentate. Coxal fields I–IV open or coxal fields II, III may be closed, without wide sclerotized areas. Bases of trochanters I–IV flanked by narrow sclerotized bands connecting bases of respective epimerites. Cupules ih present, situated at level of bases of opisthosomal lobes. Cupules ip present, represented by small tubercles on lateral margins of opisthosoma between setae e2 and f2. Legs II slightly (homeomorph males) or much (heteromorph males) longer than legs I; legs III and IV similar in size, not hypertrophied.
Tibiae I with or without ventral tubercle-like apophysis; genu I without (heteromorph males) or with (homeomorph males) apico-ventral apophysis; tibiae II usually with apico-ventral apophysis; genua II with more weakly expressed apophyses than on legs I or without them. Setae ra, la of tarsus I proximal to setae wa or all these setae at the same level. Tarsus IV short, not more than 1.5 times longer than tibia IV, similar in size to tarsus III; modified setae d, e of tarsus IV shaped either as thin spines with clear basal ring, or seta e only or both setae represented by poorly sclerotized spine-like processes without basal rings (Fig. 8 E). Male polymorphism in most species is continuous, expressed mainly in size of legs I, II, the presence/absence of apophyses on their segments and in the structure of the gnathosomal subcapitulum.
Mite Host Host family and subfamily Location Source
Group brachiatus
Female. Opisthosoma with a pair of small bluntly rounded lobes separated by small U-shaped terminal cleft. Epimerites I free. Bases of epimerites II with ball-shaped heavily sclerotized inflation. Gnathosoma trapezoidal, shaped as in homeomorph male. Hysteronotal shield entire, covers almost entire hysterosoma; lateral sclerotized bands not split from this shield, postero-lateral areas with heavily sclerotized bands of subtegumental thickenings having pronounced internal linear striations. Oviporus at level of coxal fields III. Epigynum shaped as thick bow-like sclerite. Setae d2 short setiform; setae e2 long setiform (crassior group) or flattened and enlarged (brachiatus group); setae f2, ps2 relatively short, setiform or with membranous enlargement; setae ps1 setiform, simple or with small membranous enlargement and thin spine in basal part. Copulatory opening situated on small cone-like extension in the anterior margin of terminal cleft. Apicoventral apophyses of tibiae and genua I, II represented by small blunt extension (as in homeomorph males), and may be scarcely distinct.
Hosts. Lories of the genera Chalcopsitta, Charmosyna, Lorius, Pseudeos Trichoglossus (Psittacidae: Loriinae) (Tab. 1).
Remark. In the redefinition of the genus Protolichus, Gaud and Atyeo (1996) recognized among known species the two “morphotypes”, brachiatus and crassior, which we treat here as species groups and propose new definitions for them.
description: Published as part of Mironov, Sergey V. & Dabert, Jacek, 2010, Systematic revision of the feather mite genus Protolichus Trouessart, 1884 (Astigmata, Pterolichidae), pp. 1-36 in Zootaxa 2526 on pages 4-5, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.196425