Open AccessStick‐tight fleas in the nostrils and below the tongue: evolution of an extraordinary infestation site in Hectopsylla (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae)
Author(s) -
BLANK STEPHAN M.,
KUTZSCHER CHRISTIAN,
MASELLO JUAN F.,
PILGRIM ROBERT L. C.,
QUILLFELDT PETRA
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
zoological journal of the linnean society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.148
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1096-3642
pISSN - 0024-4082
DOI - 10.1111/j.1096-3642.2006.00239.x
Subject(s) - biology , pulex , zoology , biological dispersal , host (biology) , ecology , crustacean , population , daphnia , demography , sociology
Association with terrestrial mammals as hosts and a sessile mode of life in females are ground plan traits of the stick‐tight fleas associated with Hectopsylla + Tunga . Hectopsylla comprises the lineages H. pulex +[ H. psittaci ‐group + H. broscus ‐group]. The stem species of the H. psittaci ‐group has switched to birds. Hectopsylla narium sp. nov. infests the nestlings of the burrowing parrot ( Cyanoliseus patagonus patagonus ; Psittacidae). The infestation sites inside the nasal cavity, and later during the breeding season also below the tongue, are unique among fleas. These sites provide a concealed habitat for the sessile, immobile females, where they are safe against cleaning activities of their host and the host’s parents. The fleas are able to disperse actively within the bird colony. Their dispersal over long distances can only be assumed to happen accidentally, as fleas have never been found on adult parrots during field studies in Río Negro, Patagonia, Argentina. Data on the species bionomics, morphological descriptions and illustrations, and an identification key for H. narium and related taxa are presented. A lectotype is designated for H. psittaci . The family group name Tunginae is proposed as a new synonym of Hectopsyllinae. © 2007 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2007, 149 , 117–137.