Brueelia californica Gustafsson & Bush 2021, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Gustafsson, Daniel R.
name: Bush, Sarah E.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Phthiraptera
Philopteridae
Brueelia
Brueelia californica

description: Brueelia californica sp. nov.   
 Type host   
 Melozone crissalis (Vigors 1839) – California towhee.   
 Type locality   
California, United States.  
 Diagnosis   
 Brueelia californica sp. nov. is most similar to Brueelia canyonica sp. nov., with which it shares the following characters: aps absent from male tergopleurites VI–VII (Figures 7a and 9a); ss present on male tergopleurite V (Figures 7a and 9a); ps absent on male abdominal segment III (Figures 7a and 9a), but present on female abdominal segment III (Figures 7B and 9b); gonopore broad (Figures 8c and 10c); rugose area of mesosomal lobes confined to posterior margin (Figures 8c and 10c). The two species can be separated by the following characters: proximal mesosome narrowly rounded in B. californica (Figure 8c), but broadly rounded in B. canyonica (Figure 10c); gonopore with concave antero-lateral corners in B. californica (Figure 8c), but with rounded antero-lateral margins in B. canyonica (Figure 10c).   
 Description   
 Both sexes. Head convex dome-shaped (Figure 8a), lateral margins of preantennal area convex, frons rounded to slightly flattened. Marginal carina moderate, deeply displaced and slightly widened at osculum; median margin undulated. Ventral anterior plate very small, crescent-shaped. Head chaetotaxy as in Figure 8a. Preantennal nodi slender, not bulging. Pre- and post-ocular nodi moderate. Marginal temporal carina with irregular median margin. Gular plate lanceolate. Thoracic and abdominal segments as in Figure 7a– b. Head medium brown with marginal and marginal temporal carinae, margins of antennal socket, and anterior half of gular plate darker; thoracic and abdominal segments pale brown, with proepimera, metepisterna, lateral margins of tergopleurites IV–VIII, and sternal plates IV–VI and subgenital plate medium brown.   
 Male. Thoracic and abdominal chaetotaxy as in Figure 7a; ss present on tergopleurite V; tps present on tergopleurite VII; aps absent on tergopleurites II–VII; ps absent from abdominal segment III. Basal apodeme narrowing anteriorly (Figure 8b). Proximal mesosome narrowly rounded, long (Figure 8c). Mesosomal lobes slender, rounded, with rugose area limited to posterior margin; 2 pmes sensilla on each side of gonopore. Gonopore shaped as in Figure 8c, with concave anterolateral corners. Penile arms do not reach distal margin of mesosome. Parameres broad, elongated, pst1–2 as in Figure 8d. Measurements (n = 3, except TL, where n = 2): TL = 1.49–1.52; HL = 0.36; HW = 0.28–0.29; PRW = 0.17–0.18; PTW = 0.27–0.28; AW = 0.36–0.39.   
 Female. Thoracic and abdominal chaetotaxy as in Figure 7b; ps present on abdominal segment III. Lateral margins of subgenital plate slightly convergent distally (Figure 8e), with narrow connection to cross-piece. Vulval margin gently rounded (Figure 8e), with 2–3 short, slender vms and 2–3 short, thorn-like vss on each side; 3–4 short, slender vos on each side of subgenital plate; distal 1 vos median to vss. Measurements (n = 52, except AW, where n = 51): TL = 1.55–1.79 (1.68); HL = 0.38–0.41 (0.39); HW = 0.30–0.33 (0.31); PRW = 0.19–0.21 (0.20); PTW = 0.27–0.32 (0.30); AW = 0.36–0.47 (0.42).   
 Etymology   
The specific name is derived from the type locality, California.  
 Material examined   
 Ex Melozone crissalis [as Pipilo fuscus crissalis]: Holotype ♂, California [United States], Mar. 1939, R. Meinertzhagen, 12814 (NHML). Paratypes. 1♂, 54♀, same data as holotype (NHML). Non-types. 1♂, same data as holotype (NHML).   
 Remarks   
One male on same slide as type series with dissected genitalia much unlike those of the other two males. Other characters are similar to the two males included in the type series. As we cannot tell whether this specimen has aberrant genitalia, or if they were somehow distorted during dissection, we do not count this specimen as a paratype. The holotype and paratype males are not dissected. All specimens are mounted on the same slide.
description: Published as part of Gustafsson, Daniel R. & Bush, Sarah E., 2021, Descriptions of seven new species of Brueelia Kéler 1936 (Phthiraptera: Ischnocera: Philopteridae) from North American sparrows (Aves: Passeriformes: Passerellidae), and review of host use by Brueelia vulgata, pp. 2071-2112 in Journal of Natural History 54 (33 - 34) on pages 2085-2090, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2020.1836280, http://zenodo.org/record/5029008