Sturnidoecus porphyrogenitus Bush 2017, new species
Creators: name: Bush, Sarah E.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Phthiraptera
Philopteridae
Sturnidoecus
Sturnidoecus porphyrogenitus

description: Sturnidoecus porphyrogenitus Gustafsson & Bush, new species
(Figs 413–419)
Type host. Cinnyricinclus leucogaster verreauxi (Bocage, 1870) — violet-backed starling. Type locality. 15° 46’ S, 34° 28’ E, Mozambique.
Diagnosis. Sturnidoecus porphyrogenitus n. sp. is the only known species in its group, and separated from all other species of Sturnidoecus by the shape and structure of the male genitalia (Figs 392, 416–418). The paired hooks on the distal margin of the mesosome are also found in the St. australafricanus n. sp. (Fig. 384), St. basilewskyi (Fig. 385), St. pastoris (Fig. 390), and St. sturni (Fig. 397) species-groups. However, St. porphyrogenitus is the only species with wide, roughly rectangular mesosomal lobes with angular antero-lateral processes. Uniquely within Sturnidoecus, the ames of St. porphyrogenitus are shorter than the pmes, and the ames are situated laterally to the pmes, rather than anterior to these (Fig. 417). Abdominal chaetotaxy of St. porphyrogenitus is distinct within the genus (Table 11), in that aps and psps are absent in more anterior segements in both sexes. This pattern is similar to that found in St. mon n. sp. and St. australafricanus, but in these species both sexes have psps on tergopleurite IV, whereas in St. porphyrogenitus there are no psps on tergopleurite IV. Female St. porphyrogenitus best separated from other species of Sturnidoecus by the U-shaped thickening of the distal subgenital plate, which is not found in any other Sturnidoecus.
Description. Both sexes. Head shape, structure, and chaetotaxy as in genus description and Fig. 415; as1 present. Preantennal nodi slender, pointed. Coni long, clearly reaching beyond distal margin of scapes. Preocular nodi small. Postocular nodi small, not much wider than marginal temporal carina; pos on posterior end of nodi. Gular plate short, squat, with median point. Thoracic and abdominal segments as in genus description and Figs 413–414. Posterior margin of pterothorax convergent with distinct median bulge. Sternal plates moderate, present on segments II–VI in both sexes.
Male. Abdominal chaetotaxy as in Table 11 and Fig. 413. Male genitalia as in genus and species group descriptions and Figs 391, 416–418. Measurements ex Cinnyricinclus leucogaster verreauxi (n = 2): TL = 1.40– 1.41; HL = 0.42–0.44; HW = 0.41–0.43; PRW = 0.24–0.25; PTW = 0.37; AW = 0.61–0.64.
Female. Abdominal chaetotaxy as in Table 11 and Fig. 414. Subgenital plate rounded triangular, not reaching vulval margin, and with distinct U-shaped thickening at distal end (Fig. 419). Vulval margin (Fig. 419) bulging slightly in median section, with 6–8 long, slender vms on each side, and 10–12 short, thorn-like vss on each side; 5– 6 short, slender vos on each side; distal 2 vos near vss. Measurements ex Cinnyricinclus leucogaster verreauxi (n = 3): TL = 1.47–1.62; HL = 0.40–0.46; HW = 0.43–0.46; PRW = 0.24–0.27; PTW = 0.38–0.40; AW = 0.51–0.66.
Etymology. The species epithet is derived from Greek “ Porphyrogénnētos ”, which was the honorary title given to sons or daughters of the reigning Byzantine emperor, meaning “born in the Purple [Chamber]”, a part of the Great Palace of Constantinople. It is thus a fitting name for a louse parasitising one of the few species of purple birds.
Type material. Ex Cinnyricinclus leucogaster verreauxi [as C. leucogaster]: Holotype ♂, 15° 46’ S, 34° 28’ E, Mozambique, 12 Oct. 1964, A.L. Moore, A-122 (NHML). Paratypes: 1♂, 2♀, same data as holotype (NHML).
Remarks. Sturnidoecus porphyrogenitus was included in Bush et al. (2016: specimen 323).
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 250-255, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4313.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/883161