Traihoriella Ansari 1947
Creators: name: Bush, Sarah E.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Phthiraptera
Philopteridae
Traihoriella

description: Traihoriella Ansari, 1947
Nirmus Nitzsch, 1818: 291 (in partim). Brueelia Kéler, 1936a: 257 (in partim). Traihoriella Ansari, 1947: 290.
Type species. Traihoriella punjabensis Ansari, 1947: 290, by original designation.
Diagnosis. The male genitalia of Traihoriella (Figs 266–268, 273–275) are similar to those of Harpactrox n. gen. (Figs 249–251, 256–258), and may not be separable when more species of both genera have been examined and described. However, species in these genera are readily separated by non-genitalic characters; see Harpactrox (above) for a more detailed comparison of unique non-genitalic characters in these two genera.
Traihoriella share the following set of characters with Corvonirmus, Priceiella n. gen., and Olivinirmus: parameral heads folded medianly; marginal carina uninterrupted but displaced at osculum and frons hyaline. These genera, however, differ in several characteristics.
In Priceiella (Figs 284, 291, 306, 314) the female subgenital plate flares into a cross-piece at vulval margin, which is not present in Traihoriella (Figs 269, 276). Furthermore, in Priceiella (Figs 282, 289, 304, 312) the gonopore is located in the central part of the ventral side, whereas in Traihoriella it is subterminal (Figs 267, 274).
In Olivinirmus (Figs 327–328), tps are absent and aps are present in roughly the same segments as in Traihoriella, and the preantennal structure is largely the same in both genera, including the absence of dorsal preantennal sutures (Figs 265, 272, 329). The female subgenital plate does not flare into a cross-piece in either genus (Figs 269, 276, 333). The mesosome is more complex in Olivinirmus (Figs 334–337) than in Traihoriella (Figs 266–268, 273–275); gonopore is terminal in Traihoriella but central in Olivinirmus; rugose nodi are typically present in Olivinirmus but absent in Traihoriella.
Corvonirmus is similar to Traihoriella in the preantennal area, but there are few similarities elsewhere. In most Corvonirmus (Fig. 321) the antennae are sexually dimorphic, but this is never the case in Traihoriella (Figs 265, 272). Both ps, aps, psps, and ss occur in more anterior segments in Corvonirmus than in Traihoriella (Table 2), and tps are present in male Corvonirmus (Fig. 319) but absent in male Traihoriella (Figs 263, 270); in addition, both sexes of Corvonirmus have multiple sts on at least segments IV–VI, whereas no segments have more than one sts in Traihoriella. Pleurites continue to ventral side of abdomen, and are associated with broad pleural incrassations in Traihoriella (Figs 263–264, 270–271) but do not or only barely reach lateral margins, but not the ventral side, and are much reduced, generally without incrassations, in Corvonirmus (Figs 319–320). The female subgenital plate of Corvonirmus flares into a cross-piece or have lateral submarginal extensions (Fig. 326), but this is not the case in Traihoriella (Figs 269, 276). The male genitalia of both genera (Figs 266–268, 273–275, 323–325) have medianly folded parameral heads, pst1–2 as sensilla, and relatively simple mesosomes. Parameral blades in Corvonirmus (Fig. 325) are much elongated, and connected to parameral heads by a narrow neck, whereas in Traihoriella (Figs 268, 275) the parameral blades do not narrow near the parameral heads, and are not as elongated.
Description. Both sexes. Head trapezoidal (Traihoriella punjabensis species-group, Fig. 265) or indenteddome shaped (Tr. laticeps species-group, Fig. 272). Marginal carina uninterrupted, deeply displaced dorsally and posteriorly at osculum. Dorsal preantennal suture, dorsal anterior plate, and ventral anterior plate absent. Ventral carinae diffuse anterior to pulvinus, and not clearly continuous with marginal carina. Head setae as in Figs 265, 272; as3 absent; pns sensillus, often hard to see. Preantennal nodi conspicuous in Tr. laticeps species-group, less so in Tr. punjabensis species-group. Coni short, slender. Antennae monomorphic. Temporal carinae not visible; mts 3 only macrosetae. Gular plate broadly spade-shaped.
Prothorax rounded rectangular (Figs 263–264, 270–271); ppss on postero-lateral corner. Proepimera with hammer-shaped median ends. Pterothorax pentagonal; lateral margins divergent; posterior margin convergent to median point or rounded; mms widely interrupted medianly. Meso- and metasterna not fused; mesosternum with 1 seta on postero-lateral corner on each side; metasternum with 1–2 setae on each postero-lateral corner. Metepisterna with large, blunt median ends. Leg chaetotaxy as in Fig. 25, except fI-v4, fI-p2 absent, except in Traihoriella latifrons; tI-v2 and tIp1–2 dorsal.
Abdomen (Figs 263–264, 270–271) oval, more rounded in Traihoriella laticeps species-group than in Tr. punjabensis species-group. Abdominal chaetotaxy as in Tables 2 and 7. Tergopleurites and sternal plates generally weakly pigmented, rounded rectangular; tergopleurites II–IX+X in male and tergopleurites II–VIII in female narrowly to moderately divide medianly. Sternal plates rectangular, not approaching pleurites. Pleural incrassations broad, in some species reaching median to spiracle openings (Figs 270–271). Re-entrant heads large in Tr. punjabensis species-group (Figs 263–264), but small in Tr. laticeps species-group (Figs 270–271). Male subgenital plate roughly triangular, reaching posterior margin of abdomen. Female subgenital plate pentagonal, reaching vulval margin but not flaring into cross-piece (Figs 269, 276). Vulval margin (Figs 269, 276) with slender vms, thorn-like vss; vos situated on subgenital plate, following lateral margins; distal vos median to vss.
Basal apodeme (Figs 266, 273) rounded trapezoidal, narrowing distally. Shape of proximal mesosome varies between species. Gonopore (Figs 267, 274) terminal, prominent, either closed or only narrowly open distally. Mesosomal lobes slight, rounded or angular; 2–3 pmes microsetae lateral to gonopore on each side. Parameral heads (Figs 268, 275) large, irregularly shaped. Parameral blades slender; pst1–2 sensilla, near distal tip.
Species Sex ps aps psps tps ss sts
Tr. punjabensis M IV–VIII V–VII IV–VII – V–VIII II–VI F IV–VIII – IV–VII – VII–VIII II–VI Tr. binhchauensis M IV–VIII – IV–VII – VI–VIII II–VI F IV–VIII – IV–VII – VI–VIII II–VI Tr. laticeps M IV–VIII – IV–VII – II–VIII II–VI F IV–VIII – IV–VII – II–VIII II–VI Species-group characters: Two species groups are recognised based on abdominal chaetotaxy, head shape, and host relationships, as follows:
Traihoriella punjabensis species-group (Figs 263–269). Head trapezoidal; fI-v4 absent; ss absent on abdominal segments II–IV in both sexes; re-entrant heads of pleurites present. Hosts: Asian Megalaimidae.
Traihoriella latifrons species-group (Figs 270–276). Head indented-dome shaped; fI-v4 present; ss present on abdominal segments II–IV in both sexes; re-entrant heads of pleurites absent. Hosts: Neotropical Ramphastidae.
Host distribution. Occurs disjunctly on two families of tropical Piciformes, the South American Ramphastidae on the genera Aulacorhynchus and Andigena and the Asian Megalaimidae on the genus Psilopogon [given as Megalaima in Bush et al. (2016)]. There are no known records of this genus—or any other genus in the Brueelia -complex—from South American Barbets (Capitonidae) or African Barbets (Lybiidae).
Geographical range. Disjunctly in South America and South-East Asia.
Remarks. Three species of Traihoriella were included in the phylogeny of Bush et al. (2016). Two other genera (Saepocephalum n. gen. and Bizarrifrons Eichler, 1938) appeared within the clade containing Traihoriella in the phylogeny of Bush et al. (2016). However, these phylogenetic relationships were not statistically supported, and they are not supported by morphological characters. All three genera have very different abdominal chaetotaxy, preantennal structure, male genitalia, and other characters. Within Traihoriella there is substantial variation in head shape and abdominal chaetotaxy, yet the species in this genus are strongly allied by similarities in the male genitalia and structural similarities in their preantennal areas. A more comprehensive understanding of the relationships of these three genera will require additional material and research.
Included species
Traihoriella punjabensis species-group
* Traihoriella binhchauensis (Najer & Sychra [in Najer et al.], 2014): 423 n. comb. [in Brueelia] * Traihoriella punjabensis Ansari, 1947: 290
Traihoriella laticeps species-group
Traihoriella carrikeri (Ansari, 1955a: 51) n. comb. [in Brueelia] [1] * Traihoriella laticeps (Piaget, 1888: 152) n. comb. [in Nirmus] Brueelia laticeps prasinus Carriker, 1954: 199
[1] Mey & Barker (2014) suggested that Brueelia carrikeri Ansari, 1955b, may be a member of Traihoriella. The illustrations that Ansari (1955b) provided indicate that the species belongs in Traihoriella, and in the laticeps species group. However, the illustration of the full-body and vulval margin are from a different host species than the holotype of Br. carrikeri, and Ansari (1955a: 52) was himself not certain that the two samples were the same species. His illustrations of the male genitalia (Ansari, 1955a, figs 1b–d) are very similar to those of Tr. laticeps, but as no clear illustration of the male was provided. Therefore, we do not presently place the name Br. carrikeri as a synonym of Tr. laticeps. The illustrated female [ex Turdus olivater sanctaemartae (Todd, 1913)] is indistinguishable from Tr. laticeps in abdominal and vulval chaetotaxy, head shape, and the wide pleural incrassations, but has a cross-piece at the vulval margin, which is not seen in Traihoriella. We have not examined any material of Br. carrikeri, and cannot confirm whether this cross-piece exists in the material Ansari studied, nor can we confirm to which genus the holotype belongs. We tentatively agree with Mey & Barker (2014) and place Br. carrikeri in Traihoriella based on the original description and illustrations, as well as Ansari’s (1955a) statement that the illustrated female “closely resembles” the male.
description: Published as part of Bush, Sarah E., 2017, Morphological revision of the hyperdiverse Brueelia - complex (Insecta: Phthiraptera: Ischnocera: Philopteridae) with new taxa, checklists and generic key, pp. 1-443 in Zootaxa 4313 (1) on pages 163-165, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4313.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/883161