Cinclus pallasii (Temminck, 1820)

Schneider, Marek, Kolencik, Stanislav, Literak, Ivan & Sychra, Oldrich, 2025, Redescriptions of three species in the louse genus Myrsidea (Insecta: Phthiraptera: Amblycera), Zootaxa 5653 (3), pp. 411-428 : 426

Ex Cinclus pallasii (Temminck, 1820)

KOREA: 2♀♀, Kwang-Nung, Kyunggi, 11 Dec. 1964, H.E. McClure ( USNM SE-1585); 1♀, same data (B.M. 1965-555— NHML UK 010661927) . Note: All 3♀♀ identified by T. Clay.

Remarks

The original description of Myrsidea franciscoloi does not include the minimum of 20 characters which should be given in a description of a Myrsidea species, according to Clay (1966). Myrsidea franciscoloi is the only Myrsidea species known from the host family Cinclidae . It has been recorded from Cinclus cinclus aquaticus in central and southern Europe: Bulgaria ( Ilieva 2009), Czech Republic, Slovakia ( Balát 1956, 1977), Germany ( Spitznagel 1985), Italy ( Conci 1942a), and United Kingdom ( Fowler & Hodson 1991). In addition, Doyle et al. (2005) reported M. franciscoloi from C. cinclus hibernicus Hartert, 1910 in Ireland. In this paper, we add records from Montenegro and Slovenia, and record M. franciscoloi from a new host, C. cinclus leucogaster , from the mountainous areas of central Asia ( Gill et al. 2024). Price et al. (2003: 129, 337) listed Cinclus pallasii as a valid host of M. franciscoloi without a reference, but this host-louse association was recorded in the review by Kolencik et al. (2024: Appendix 1) for two females from Korea. We have examined the same two females and confirm their identity as M. franciscoloi . It is possible that Price et al. (2003) included unpublished data from slide labels of lice deposited at the USNM.

Kolencik et al. (2024: 45) established the franciscoloi morphotype-group for species with a relatively common type of male genital sac sclerite and named it according to the first-described species of the group. The male genital sac sclerite of this morphotype-group is present in 30 species of Myrsidea parasitizing birds from nine passerine families and hummingbirds ( Kolencik et al. 2024: Table S3). However, species of the franciscoloi morphotype-group do not form monophyletic groups ( Kolencik et al. 2024). A reliable character to distinguish M. franciscoloi from other Myrsidea species is the presence of 1–2 strong spine-like setae on the postero-lateral margin of the metanotum and tergites I–V. This character is not common among Myrsidea species. In addition to M. franciscoloi, Kolencik et al. (2024: 33) reported it in Myrsidea singularis Tandan, 1972 (host family Leiothrichidae ), and Myrsidea victoriae Soto-Madrid & Sychra [in Soto-Madrid et al.], 2020 (host family Pellorneidae ). However, these two latter species differ in the type of male genital sac sclerite, and they belong to two different morphotype-groups: singularis and monilegeri, respectively ( Kolencik et al. 2024: 41, 42). Further research on both morphological and genetic data of all species placed in the franciscoloi morphotype-group is necessary to assess whether M. franciscoloi represents a separate evolutionary lineage associated with the host family Cinclidae only. Considering the significant phylogenetic influence of host families on the Myrsidea phylogeny ( Kolencik et al. 2022), incorporating genetic data is crucial for better understanding and accurate classification of the morphotype-groups and their relationship to the host families.