Myrsidea markhafneri Price, Johnson
Creators: name: Price, Roger D.
name: Johnson, Kevin P.
name: Dalgleish, Robert C.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2008
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Phthiraptera
Menoponidae
Myrsidea
Myrsidea markhafneri

description: Myrsidea markhafneri Price, Johnson, and Dalgleish, new species
(Figs. 8–9)
Type host. Saltator grossus (Linnaeus, 1766), the Slate-colored Grosbeak.
Female. Head with strongly developed hypopharyngeal sclerites; gula usually with 5 setae on each side, less often 6. Dorsoventral metathorax and abdomen as in Fig. 9. Metanotal posterior margin with 11–13 setae; metasternal plate with 6–7 setae. Tergite I of normal size, tergite II moderately enlarged with pronounced rounded medioposterior convexity, resulting in slight compression of tergites III–IV. Each tergal setal row with distinct median gap. Tergal setae: I, 15–17; II, 10–12; III, 13–14; IV, 15–16; V, 17–19; VI, 17–20; VII, 18–19; VIII, 9–12. Postspiracular setae on V–VI about 0.20 long, III 0.30 long, and VII extremely long (0.40). Pleurites: I–IV with relatively uniform short setae; V-VII with fine longer setae toward midline; VIII with long seta flanked on each side by much shorter seta. Sternal setae: II, 4 in each aster, 17–19 marginal between asters, 7–9 anterior; III, 28–29; IV, 55–61; V, 59–66; VI, 50–61; VII, 19; VIII–IX, 21–24. Anus with 36 ventral, 37–42 dorsal fringe setae. Dimensions: TW, 0.51–0.54; HL, 0.33–0.34; PW, 0.32–0.34; MW, 0.50–0.54; AWIV, 0.65–0.73; ANW, 0.23–0.26; TL, 1.63–1.68.
Male. Head, thorax, median gap in abdominal tergal setal rows, lengths of postspiracular setae, and chaetotaxy of abdominal pleurites as for female (Fig. 8), except for 10–13 marginal metanotal setae, 6 metasternal plate setae, and no median gap in tergal setal row on I. Tergal setae: I, 16–19; II, 12–15; III, 13–15; IV, 15–17; V, 16–20; VI, 16–20; VII, 16–18; VIII, 9–12. Sternal setae: II, 4 in each aster, less often 3, 15–17 marginal between asters, 6–11 anterior; III, 23–27; IV, 41–52; V, 50–55; VI, 44–50; VII, 20–23; VIII, 5–6. Genitalia and genital sac sclerite as for M. lightae (Figs. 2, 3). Dimensions: TW, 0.46–0.48; HL, 0.31–0.33; PW, 0.29– 0.31; MW, 0.39–0.42; AWIV, 0.51–0.55; GL, 0.42–0.47; TL, 1.38–1.42.
Type material. Holotype female (to USNM)), ex S. grossus, PERU (Northeast): Explor Napa Camp, Rio Napa, SE Iquitos, 14 June 1989, RCD et al. Paratypes: (to INHS) 1 female, 1 male, (to USNM) 1 female, 4 males, same data as holotype.
Remarks. This is the third and final species treated in this paper for which both sexes have the abdominal tergal setal rows with a pronounced median gap. The female of M. markhafneri is recognizable from the others by having tergite I relatively unmodified and a more modest development of tergite II (Fig. 9 vs. Figs. 1, 5). The consistently larger dimensions and very large number of abdominal sternal setae will further separate both sexes of this species from those of M. johnklickai. The large dimensions and certain other features more resemble M. lightae, but both sexes of M. markhafneri have only four, less often three, setae in each sternite II aster, have fewer setae on the metanotal margin and each of tergites II-IV, and more setae on sternites V and VI.
Etymology. This species is named in honor of Mark Hafner, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in recognition of his work on louse systematics and coevolution.
description: Published as part of Price, Roger D., Johnson, Kevin P. & Dalgleish, Robert C., 2008, Five new species of Myrsidea Waterston (Phthiraptera: Menoponidae) from saltators and grosbeaks (Passeriformes: Cardinalidae), pp. 1-10 in Zootaxa 1873 on pages 4-6, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.184026