Penenirmus albiventris

Penenirmus albiventris (Scopoli, 1763)

Reports. [1] ADAM (2008: 366); [2] BALÁT (1958: 403); [3] BALÁT (1977:51); [4] BLAGOVESHTCHENSKY (1940: 65); [5] BLAGOVESHTCHENSKY (1951: 296); [6] BROWN & WILK (1944: 128); [7] CARRIKER (1956: 34); [8] CICCHINO (1980: 7); [9] CLAY & HOPKINS (1951: 29); [10] HACKMAN (1994: 56); [11] KRAVTSOVA (1998); [12] LYAKHOVA & KOTTI (2011: 373); [13] MEY (2004: 105); [14] OVERGAARD (1942: 15); [15] PALMA & JENSEN (2005: 56); [16] PETERS (1936: 20); [17] RÉKASI (1993: 87); [18] TEBUEVA (2011); [19] TIMMERMANN (1950: 2); [20] WATERSTON (1915: 32); [21] ZŁOTORZYCKA (1977: 72); [22] this paper.

Hosts. PALAEARCTIC REGION: EUROPE: Troglodytes troglodytes borealis Fischer, 1861 – Faroe Islands [15, 20]; T. t. indigenus Clancey, 1937 – British Isles [9, 20]; T. t. islandicus Hartert, 1907 – Iceland [14, 19]; T. t. troglodytes (Linnaeus, 1758) – Bulgaria [2], Czech Republic [3, 22], Finland [10], Germany [13, 20], Hungary [17], Poland [21], Romania [1], Slovakia [3, 20]; T. t. zetlandicus Hartert, 1910 – Shetland Islands [20]. ASIA: Troglodytes troglodytes hyrcanus Zarudny & Loudon, 1905 – Azerbaijan: Talysh [4], Russia: Ciscaucasia [12], North-Caucasus – Stavropol Region [18]; T. t. tianschanicus Sharpe, 1882 – Kyrgyzstan [11], Tajikistan [5].

NEARCTIC REGION: Troglodytes aedon Vieillot, 1809 [aedon group] – Canada: Alberta [6], USA: New York [16]; Salpinctes obsoletus (Say, 1823) – Canada: Alberta [6].

NEOTROPICAL REGION: Troglodytes aedon audax Tschudi, 1844 [musculus group] – Peru [22]; T. a. bonariae Hellmayr, 1919 [musculus group] – Argentina [8], T. a. striatulus (Lafresnaye, 1845) [musculus group] – Colombia [7].

Remarks. OVERGAARD (1942) reported Nirmus sp. from Troglodytes troglodytes islandicus from Iceland. We agree with TIMMERMANN (1950) that this record most likely refers to Penenirmus albiventris.

PETERS (1936) and BROWN & WILK (1944) reported Philopterus subflavescens (Geoffroy, 1762) from Salpinctes obsoletus and Troglodytes aedon from New York (USA) and Alberta (Canada), respectively. However, as explained by CLAY & HOPKINS (1950: 269), the names used by GEOFFROY (1762) are not binominal, being rather descriptive phrases, and therefore they are invalid. Nevertheless, the name P.subflavescens has been incorrectly used as a valid species commonly occurring on passerines (e.g. PETERS 1936, SÉGUY 1944), including Penenirmus albiventris from Troglodytes troglodytes named as “ Philopterus subflavescens albiventris ” by EICHLER (1937). In our opinion, the lice reported by PETERS (1936) and BROWN & WILK (1944) may also represent Penenirmus albiventris.

CARRIKER (1956) reported Penenirmus sp. from Troglodytes aedon striatulus from Colombia as “very similar to albiventris ”. In our opinion, this record also refers to P. albiventris. However, examination of the specimens referred to by OVERGAARD (1942), PETERS (1936), BROWN & WILK (1944) and CARRIKER (1956) is necessary to confirm our tentative identifications.

BLAGOVESHTCHENSKY (1940: 65) described the new species Degeeriella longuliceps giving two species as type hosts: Troglodytes troglodytes hyrcanus from Azerbaijan and Cettia cetti (Temminck, 1820) of the family Cettiidae. Subsequently, the same author listed the same two bird species from Tajikistan as hosts of P. albiventris, placing Degeeriella longuliceps as a junior synonym (BLAGOVESHTCHENSKY 1951: 296). We agree with BLAGOVESHTCHENSKY (1951) and EMERSON (1972: 112) in that D. longuliceps from T. troglodytes is synonymous with P. albiventris. However, the true identity of the lice from Cettia cetti will remain uncertain until the specimens studied by BLAGOVESHTCHENSKY (1940, 1951) are re-examined.