Brueelia colindalei sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 18B53F01-1C97-46C2-82AB-88CCFA0F6B8C

Figs 85–91

Brueelia sp. ex Hemixos castanonotus Pycnonotidae 225 Bush et al., 2016: 745, fig. 3e.

Brueelia alophoixi Sychra et al. in Sychra et al., 2009 sensu lato – Chu et al. 2019: 337.

Diagnosis

Brueelia colindalei sp. nov. is most similar to Br. alophoixi Sychra in Sychra et al., 2009, with which it shares the following characters: visible ventral anterior plate (Fig. 87); male abdominal segment IV with 1 ps on each side and segment VII with 2 ps on each side (Fig. 85); male tergopleurite IV without aps (Fig. 85); male tergopleurite VIII with 2 tps on each side (Fig. 85); short and broad male basal apodeme, constricted at mid-length and with rounded anterior margin (Fig. 88); female abdominal segment VI with 2 ps on each side (Fig. 86); head shape pentagonal (Fig. 87).

These two species can be separated by the following characters: lateral margins of preantennal head more or less straight in Br. alophoixi, but convex in Br. colindalei sp. nov. (Fig. 87); head proportionately broader in Br. alophoixi than in Br. colindalei sp. nov. (Fig. 87); female abdominal segment IV with ps in Br.alophoixi, but without ps in Br.colindalei sp. nov. (Fig.86); differences in shape of proximal mesosome (Fig. 90); distal mesosome more rounded in Br. colindalei sp. nov. (Fig. 90) than in Br. alophoixi.

Etymology

The species name is in honor of our friend and colleague Dr Colin Dale (University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA), in recognition of his research elucidating interactions between lice and their endosymbiontic bacteria.

Material examined

Holotype (ex Hemixos castanonotus canipennis) CHINA • ♂; Guangxi Province, Shiwandashan National park; 20 Apr. 2005; [S.E.] Bush and [D.H.] Clayton; MBR-6686; P-894; NHML [slide also contains female Guimaraesiella flavala].

Paratypes CHINA • 1 ♂, 1 ♀; same locality and collectors as for holotype; 17 Apr 2005; MBR-6668; P-894; PIPR • 1 ♂, 6 ♀♀; Guangdong Province, Zhaoqing County, Dinghushan National Park; 17 Jul 2015; X. Chu and D. He leg.; J2713; GD-PHTH-00280–00282; GIABR.

Type host

Hemixos castanonotus canipennis Seebohm, 1890 – chestnut bulbul.

Description

Both sexes

Head convex dome-shaped (Fig. 87), lateral margins of preantennal area convex, frons slightly concave. Marginal carina translucent and moderately displaced at osculum; lateral sections with moderate undulations of median margin. Ventral anterior plate oval, with yellow pigmentation. Head chaetotaxy as in Fig. 87; pos located far behind eye. Temples rounded, occiput convex. Thoracic and abdominal segments as in Figs 85–86. Pigmentation pale yellow, except preantennal, preocular, and postocular nodi, proepimera, metepisterna, and lateral tergopleurites moderate brown.

Male

Thoracic and abdominal chaetotaxy as in Fig. 85. Basal apodeme short (Fig. 88), constricted at midlength. Proximal mesosome broad, with anterior margin concavely convergent to median point (Fig. 90). Mesosomal lobes broad, drop-shaped, moderately rugose on postero-median margins; 2 pmes sensilla latero-distal to gonopore. Gonopore largely rounded, without lateral extensions, distal margin deeply concave. Penile arms do not reach beyond distal margin of mesosomal lobes. Parameres partially everted in both examined males, and here illustrated approximately (Fig. 89). Measurements as in Table 1.

Female

Thoracic and abdominal chaetotaxy as in Fig. 86. Subgenital plate roughly rectangular, in some specimens broader than illustrated, with broad connection to cross-piece. Vulval margin seemingly flattened medianly (Fig. 91), with at least 3–5 slender vms and 3–5 short, thorn-like vss on each side; 4 slender vos on each side of subgenital plate, 1 vos near vms. Measurements as in Table 1.

Remarks

Specimens from Guangdong are slightly larger than specimens from Guangxi; however, given that so few specimens were examined from each place, we do not consider this significant, and have presented all measurements under one heading in Table 1.

Brueelia colindalei sp. nov. was included in the phylogeny of Bush et al. (2016), represented by four specimens from different host species, all from South China. It is possible that, at least locally, Br. colindalei sp. nov. occurs naturally on all these hosts (Ixos mcclellandii, Spizixos semitorques, Emberiza godlewskii Taczanowski, 1874). However, other specimens examined from Ixos mcclellandii are not conspecific with Br. colindaeli, and one of the hosts in Bush et al. (2016) is an emberizid. We prefer not to count these bird species as hosts of Br. colindalei sp. nov. until this has been confirmed.