Brueelia tenebrosa 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 tenebrosa

description: Brueelia tenebrosa sp. nov.   
(Figure 17–18)  
 Type host   
 Passerella iliaca (Merrem 1786) – fox sparrow.   
 Type locality   
Sullivan Canyon, Los Angeles County, California, United States.  
 Diagnosis   
 Brueelia tenebrosa sp. nov. is most similar to B. melospizae sp. nov., with which it shares the following characters: ss present on male tergopleurite V (Figure 15a, 17a); tps and aps present on male tergopleurite VII (Figure 15a, 17a). These two species can be separated by the following characters: aps absent on male tergopleurite VI in B. tenebrosa (Figure 17a), but present in B. melospizae (Figure 15a); ps absent on male abdominal segment III in B. tenebrosa (Figure 17a), but present in B. melospizae (Figure 15a); preantennal head proportionately broader and shorter in B. tenebrosa (Figure 18a) than in B. melospizae (Figure 16a); proximal mesosome narrower in B. tenebrosa (Figure 18c) than in B. melospizae (Figure 16c); rugose area of mesosome more extensive in B. tenebrosa (Figure 18c) than in B. melospizae (Figure 16c); parameres slender in B. tenebrosa (Figure 18d), but stout in B. melospizae (Figure 16d). Females best separated on head shape and pigmentation patterns (see below).   
 Description   
 Both sexes. Head convex dome-shaped (Figure 18a), lateral margins of preantennal area convex, frons flat to slightly concave. Marginal carina broad, width irregular, much displaced and widened at osculum. Ventral anterior plate small, crescent-shaped to triangular. Head chaetotaxy as in Figure 18a. Preantennal nodi large, bulging. Preocular nodi large, postocular nodi moderate. Marginal temporal carina with irregular median margin. Gular plate broadly lanceolate. Thoracic and abdominal segments as in 17A–B. Base pigmentation yellowish brown; marginal and marginal temporal carinae, head nodi, margins of antennal sockets, anterior end of gular plate, proepimera, metepisterna, sternal and subgenital plates, and most of tergopleurites except central area around spiracle opening darker.   
 Male. Thoracic and abdominal chaetotaxy as in Figure 17a; ss present on tergopleurite V, tps and aps present on tergopleurite VII, tps absent from tergopleurite VI; ps absent from abdominal segment III. Basal apodeme broad, constricted at mid-length, but widening anteriorly (Figure 18b). Proximal mesosome somewhat elongated, narrowly rounded (Figure 18c). Mesosomal lobes wide, angular; rugose area covers most of ventral surface of lobes in distal end; 2 pmes sensilla on each side lateral to gonopore. Gonopore long, crescent-shaped. Penile arms short, not reaching distal margin of mesosome. Parameres elongated, slender, pst1–2 as in Figure 18d. Measurements (n = 7 except TL where n = 6): TL = 1.47–1.62; HL = 0.35–0.38; HW = 0.30–0.32; PRW = 0.18–0.21; PTW = 0.28–0.32; AW = 0.36–0.42.   
 Female. Thoracic and abdominal chaetotaxy as in Figure 17b; ps present on abdominal segment III. Lateral margins of proximal subgenital plate concave (Figure 18e), with broad connection to cross-piece. Vulval margin gently rounded (Figure 18e), with 3–4 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 (rarely 2 on one side) vos median to vss. Measurements (n = 21): TL = 1.67–1.81 (1.74); HL = 0.37–0.41 (0.39); HW = 0.31–0.34 (0.33); PRW = 0.19–0.22 (0.20); PTW = 0.29–0.36 (0.33); AW = 0.38–0.44 (0.41).   
 Etymology   
 Specific name derived from Latin ‘ tenebrosus ’ for ‘dark’, referring to the extensive dark pigmentation of this species.   
 Material examined   
 Ex Passerella iliaca (subspecies unknown): Holotype ♂, Sullivan Canyon, Los Angeles County, California, United States, 19 March 1985, M.A. Marin, 4 (NHML). Paratypes. 1♂, 6♀, same data as holotype (NHML); 5♂, 15♀, Virginia [United States], Feb. 1939, R. Meinertzhagen, 12,639 (NHML).
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 2103-2107, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2020.1836280, http://zenodo.org/record/5029008