New feather mites of the Nycteridocaulus generic group (Acariformes: Proctophyllodidae) from passerines (Passeriformes) in Panama.

Three new feather mite species of the Nycteridocaulus generic group (Proctophyllodidae: Proctophyllodinae) are described from passerines in Panama: Atrichophyllodes myrmotherulae sp. n. from the Slaty Antwren, Myrmotherula schisticolor (Lawrence) (Thamnophilidae), Nycteridocaulus apanaskevichi sp. n. from the Grey-breasted Wood Wren, Henicorhina leucophrys (Tschudi) (Troglodytidae), and N. empidonicus sp. n. from the Yellowish Flycatcher Empidonax flavescens Lawrence (Tyrannidae). Nycteridocaulus apanaskevichi, presenting the second record of the genus from a host of oscine passerines, differs from N. guaratubensis Hernandes, 2014 in having the anterolateral extensions of the prodorsal shield rounded and the hysteronotal shield lacking any ornamentation. Males of N. empidonicus differ from N. myiobius Mironov, 2017 in having the supranal concavity open posteriorly and tarsus IV with rounded apical process; and females are distinguished by macrosetae h2 having long filiform apices. Males of A. myrmotherulae most clearly differ from A. mentalis Hernandes et al. 2007 in having the terminal lamellae rectangular and tarsus IV with triangular ventral process, and females are distinguished in having a noticeably longer idiosoma, 400-430 µm long. Comments on systematics and host associations of the genera Atrichophyllodes and Nycteridocaulus are provided.

Convergent and unidirectional evolution of extremely long aedeagi in the largest feather mite genus, Proctophyllodes (Acari: Proctophyllodidae): Evidence from comparative molecular and morphological phylogenetics.

Proctophyllodid feather mites (400+ species) are permanent (full-time) symbionts commonly occurring on passerine birds. Phenotypic evolution of these mites appears to be greatly influenced by characters related to reproduction (>87.5% of a total of 32 taxonomically important discrete characters) and male genitalic characters (21.9%). Because sexual selection could the major evolutionary driver in this system, we test the theoretical expectation that genitalic or sexually dimorphic characters should evolve more rapidly and divergently then other characters. We inferred a time-calibrated molecular phylogeny (6 genes, 8571 nt aligned, no missing data) for 133 taxa of proctophyllodid mites and 40 outgroups. Comparisons of the average number of character state changes inferred on 10,696 Bayesian stationary trees indicate that male genitalic or sexually dimorphic characters do not evolve significantly faster than other characters (p=0.537 and p=0.819, respectively). However, among the male genitalic characters, a trait related to the relative length of the aedeagus experienced extremely fast rates of evolution and was detected as a statistical outlier. In this character, the transitions between short, long, and several intermediate states occurred in both directions. In contrast, the evolution of extremely long aedeagi (nearly as long as the body) occurred unidirectionally and irreversibly. This surprising result may be due to constraints imposed by the female spermathecal canal, which, in species where males have extremely long aedeagi, is also very long and may impede pumping sperm by short aedeagi. In proctophyllodid mites, extremely long aedeagi evolved independently five times in five different monophyletic lineages. Several of these lineages were lumped together by taxonomists to form easy-to-distinguish but apparently artificial species-groups. Male genitalic characters, thus, can introduce false synapomorphies that could affect morphology-based phylogenetic inference. For the most species-rich genus, Proctophyllodes, we develop a predictive classification of species-groups that reconciles molecular and morphological data.

Two new feather mites of the genus Proctophyllodes Robin, 1868 (Acari: Proctophyllodidae) from European passerines (Aves: Passeriformes).

Two new species of the feather mite genus Proctophyllodes Robin, 1868 (Analgoidea: Proctophyllodidae) are described from two passerine birds (Passeriformes) in Europe: Proctophyllodes markovetsi n. sp. from the tawny pipit Anthus campestris (L.) (Motacillidae) and P. loxiae n. sp. from the red crossbill Loxia curvirostra (L.) (Fringillidae). Males of P. markovetsi are most clearly distinguished from the closely related P. tchagrae Atyeo & Braasch, 1966 by having greater terminal lamellae (30-40 × 20-25 µm), the tips of genital arch curved medially, and the corolla of the anal sucker with 14-15 denticles; females of this species are characterised by the terminal appendages distinctly longer than the lobar region width. Males of P. loxiae differ from the closest species, P. fuchsi Mironov, 1997, by having smaller terminal lamellae (45-50 × 22-28 µm), the genital organ extending beyond the posterior margin of lamellae by half their length; females can be distinguished by having the terminal cleft noticeably wider than long (28-30 × 35-40 µm).

A new feather mite of the genus Pteronyssoides Hull, 1931 (Astigmata: Pteronyssidae) from thrushes (Passeriformes: Turdidae) in the New World.

A new feather mite species, Pteronyssoides turdinus n. sp. (Acariformes: Pteronyssidae), is described from two species of thrushes, Turdus amaurochalinus Cabanis (type-host) and T. leucomelas Vieillot (Passeriformes: Turdidae) in Minas Gerais, Brazil. The new species belongs to the parinus species group and most clearly differs from previously known species of this group by the following features: in both sexes of P. turdinus, setae c2 are anterior to the level of the sejugal furrow; in males, the anterior margin of the hysteronotal shield has a deep trapezoidal concavity, setae d1 are situated on the striated tegument, the adanal shield is represented by a narrow longitudinal sclerite, and tarsus and tibia of legs IV are subequal in length; in females, the opisthosomal sclerites are split into proper opisthosomal sclerites and pygidial fragments encompassing the bases of setae h2 and h3. This is the first description of a feather mite of the genus Pteronyssoides Hull, 1931 from birds of the family Turdidae.

A new feather mite of the genus Dolichodectes (Astigmata: Proctophyllodidae) from Hippolais polyglotta (Passeriformes: Acrocephalidae) in Spain.

A new feather mite species, Dolichodectes hispanicus sp. n. (Astigmata: Proctophyllodidae), is described from the Melodious Warbler Hippolais polyglotta (Vieillot) (Passeriformes: Acrocephalidae) in Spain. The new species is closest to the type species of the genus, D. edwardsi (Trouessart, 1885) from the Grear Reed-Warbler Acrocephalus arundinaceus (Linnaeus) (Acrocephalidae). Adults of D. hispanicus differ from those of D. edwardsi by dimensional characteristics, in particular, by having shorter aedeagus that does not extend to the anal suckers in males and shorter hysteronotal shield in females. Tritonymphs of D. hispanicus are much more distinctive and differ from those of D. edwardsi by having the prodorsal shield covering all the prodorsum, the hysteronotal shield occupying about three quarters of the hysterosoma, and idiosomal setae h3 being filiform. The morphological description of the new species is augmented by sequence data from the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene fragment (COI).

New species of the feather mite genus Promegninia Gaud & Atyeo (Acari: Avenzoariidae) from petrels and shearwaters (Procellariiformes: Procellariidae).

Two new species of the feather mite genus Promegninia Gaud & Atyeo, 1967 (Avenzoariidae: Bonnetellinae) are described from procellariids in the northeasterm Atlantic Ocean: Promegninia bulweriae n. sp. from the Bulwer's petrel Bulweria bulwerii (Jardine & Selby) and P. calonectris n. sp. from the Cory's shearwater Calonectris borealis (Cory) (Procellariiformes: Procellariidae). Males of P bulweriae n. sp. are most clearly distinguished from the other known species in the genus by having short legs III extending only to the level of lobar apices and short conical tarsi III with lanceolate ventral seta w; females of this species are characterised by the absence of additional sclerites at postero-lateral angles of the prodorsal shield. Males of P. calonectris differ from the other known species in having bidentate terminal lamellae on the lobar apices and the entire adanal shield; females of this species are distinguished by having well-developed pygidial shields and a hysteronotal shield encompassing the bases of setae c2. Sequence data of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene fragment (COI) are also obtained for the new species. An updated diagnosis of Promegninia and a key to the known species are provided.

New species of the feather mite family Proctophyllodidae (Acariformes: Astigmata) from two species of mockingbirds (Passeriformes: Mimidae) in eastern North America.

Four new species of the feather mite family Proctophyllodidae are described from two species of the family Mimidae (Passeriformes): Proctophyllodes apanaskevichi sp. n. (Proctophyllodinae) and Amerodectes dumetellae sp. n. (Pterodectinae) from the Gray Catbird, Dumetella carolinensis (L., 1766), and Proctophyllodes gallowayi sp. n. (Proctophyllodinae) and Metapterodectes toxostomae sp. n. (Pterodectinae) from the Brown Thrasher, Toxostoma rufum (L., 1758). A. dumetellae and M. toxostomae represent the first records of mites of the subfamily Pterodectinae on mockingbirds.

From cuckoos to chickens: a caught-in-the-act case of host shift in feather mites (Arachnida: Acari: Psoroptoididae).

Feather mites are highly specialized permanent ectosymbionts recorded from all recently recognized bird orders. These mites, specialized to live in the plumage of their hosts, rarely cause any visible damage to their specific hosts. Recently described feather mite Allopsoroptoides galli Mironov (Acariformes: Psoroptoididae) was reported to cause severe mange in chickens in Brazil, leading to unprecedented economic losses. Until now, the natural host of A. galli remained unknown. In this paper, we report its true wild host, the Guira cuckoo Guira guira (Cuculiformes: Cuculidae). In addition, a previously unknown heteromorphic form of males is described from the mite population distributed on its natural host. We also speculate a possible scenario by which this mite species could have been horizontally transferred from the wild populations of the natural host to the secondary hosts.

New species of the feather mite genus Protolichus Trouessart, 1884 (Astigmata, Pterolichidae) from lories and lorikeets (Aves: Psittaciformes).

Five new species of the feather mite genus Protolichus Trouessart, 1884 (Astigmata, Pterolichidae) are described from parrots of the subfamily Loriinae (Psittaciformes: Psittacidae): Protolichus ornatus sp. n. from Trichoglossus ornatus (Linnaeus, 1758), P. lorinus sp. n. from Lorius lory (Linnaeus, 1758), P. placentis sp. n. from Charmosyna placentis (Temminck, 1835), P. pulchellae sp. n. from C. pulchella (Gray GR, 1859), and P. rubiginosus sp. n. from T. rubiginosus (Bonaparte, 1850). Protolichus ornatus belongs to the brachiatus species group; the other new species belong to the crassior species group.

Allopsoroptoides galli n. g., n. sp., a new genus and species of feather mites (Acari: Analgoidea: Psoroptoididae) causing mange in commercially raised domestic chicken in Brazil.

A new feather mite, Allopsoroptoides galli n. g., n. sp. (Psoroptoididae: Pandalurinae), is described from the domestic chicken, Gallus gallus (Linnaeus) (Galliformes: Phasianidae), from Brazil. This is the first record of a representative of the feather mite family Psoroptoididae from an avian host of the order Galliformes. The new genus is closely related to the genus Cygnocoptes Fain & Bochkov, 2003 but clearly differs from the latter and all other genera of the family by the loss of four median pairs of hysteronotal setae (c1, d1, e1, and h1) in both sexes and by the unique shape of the male opisthosoma. Instead of the bilobate opisthosoma, the male opisthosoma in this genus has a narrow and long median projection, ending with a pair of semi-ovate terminal lamellae. These mites were first detected during a mange outbreak in several commercial poultry facilities in the state of São Paulo, Brazil.

New species and records of quill mites of the family Syringophilidae (Acari: Prostigmata) from the passerines (Aves: Passeriformes) from the Russian Far East.

Two new species, Syringophilopisis pari sp. nov. from Poecile palustris Linnaeus (Paridae) and Torotrogla volgini sp. nov. from Emberiza elegans Temminck (Emberizidae) are described. Additionally, new host species are reported for three syringophilid species: Emberiza tristrami Swinhoe and E. rutila Pallas for Betasyringophiloidus schoeniclus (Skoracki); Sitta europaea Linnaeus (Sittidae) for Syringophilopsis sittae Skoracki et al., and Zosterops erythropleurus Swinhoe (Zosteropidae) for Neoaulonastus zosterops Skoracki et al. All avian hosts were captured in the Primorsky Krai, Russia. The syringophilid fauna presently recorded from Russia is summarized.

New feather mites of the genus Neodectes (Acariformes: Proctophyllodidae) from honeyeaters (Passeriformes: Meliphagidae) in Australia.

Five new species of the genus Neodectes Park and Atyeo, 1971 (Proctophyllodidae: Pterodectinae) are described from honeyeaters (Passeriformes: Meliphagidae) in Australia: Neodectes cissomelae sp. n. from Cissomela pectoralis (Gould) (type host) and Melithreptus gularis laetior Gould; N. hallidayi sp. n. from Anthochaera carunculata (Shaw) (type host) and A. chrysoptera (Latham); N. manorinae sp. n. from Manorina melanocephala (Latham); N. ophioglossus sp. n. from Conopophila rufogularis (Gould) (type host) and Lichmera indistincta (Vigors and Horsfield); and N. walteri sp. n. from Anthochaera phrygia (Shaw). A key to species and a world checklist to Neodectes species are provided for the first time. A new combination, Neodectes dicranochaetus (Gaud, 1968) comb. n., is proposed for Proterothrix dicranochaeta Gaud, 1968, which is transferred herein to the genus Neodectes from Proterothrix Gaud, 1968 (Proctophyllodidae).

Diversity and structure of feather mite communities on seabirds from the north-east Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea.

The richness and structure of symbiont assemblages are shaped by many factors acting at different spatial and temporal scales. Among them, host phylogeny and geographic distance play essential roles. To explore drivers of richness and structure of symbiont assemblages, feather mites and seabirds are an attractive model due to their peculiar traits. Feather mites are permanent ectosymbionts and considered highly host-specific with limited dispersal abilities. Seabirds harbour species-rich feather mite communities and their colonial breeding provides opportunities for symbionts to exploit several host species. To unravel the richness and test the influence of host phylogeny and geographic distance on mite communities, we collected feather mites from 11 seabird species breeding across the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Using morphological criteria, we identified 33 mite species, of which 17 were new or recently described species. Based on community similarity analyses, mite communities were clearly structured by host genera, while the effect of geography within host genera or species was weak and sometimes negligible. We found a weak but significant effect of geographic distance on similarity patterns in mite communities for Cory's shearwaters Calonectris borealis. Feather mite specificity mainly occurred at the host-genus rather than at host-species level, suggesting that previously inferred host species-specificity may have resulted from poorly sampling closely related host species. Overall, our results show that host phylogeny plays a greater role than geography in determining the composition and structure of mite assemblages and pinpoints the importance of sampling mites from closely-related host species before describing mite specificity patterns.

Horizontal transmission maintains host specificity and codiversification of symbionts in a brood parasitic host.

In host-symbiont systems, interspecific transmissions create opportunities for host switches, potentially leading to cophylogenetic incongruence. In contrast, conspecific transmissions often result in high host specificity and congruent cophylogenies. In most bird-feather mite systems, conspecific transmission is considered dominant, while interspecific transmission is supposedly rare. However, while mites typically maintain high host specificity, incongruent cophylogenies are common. To explain this conundrum, we quantify the magnitude of conspecific vs. interspecific transmission in the brood parasitic shiny cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis). M. bonariensis lacks parental care, allowing the assessment of the role of horizontal transmission alone in maintaining host specificity. We found that despite frequent interspecific interactions via foster parental care, mite species dispersing via conspecific horizontal contacts are three times more likely to colonize M. bonariensis than mites transmitted vertically via foster parents. The results highlight the previously underappreciated rate of transmission via horizontal contacts in maintaining host specificity on a microevolutionary scale. On a macroevolutionary scale, however, host switches were estimated to have occurred as frequently as codivergences. This suggests that macroevolutionary patterns resulting from rare events cannot be easily generalized from short-term evolutionary trends.

Two new species of feather mites (Acariformes, Astigmata) from the black-tailed godwit, Limosalimosa (Charadriiformes, Scolopacidae), in Korea.

Two new species of feather mites are described from two individuals of the black-tailed godwit, Limosalimosa (Linnaeus, 1758), in Korea: Alloptes (Conuralloptes) neolimosaesp. nov. (Analgoidea, Alloptidae) and Phyllochaetalimosae sp. nov. (Pterolichoidea, Syringobiidae). Males of A. (C.) neolimosaesp. nov. are distinguished from A. (C.) limosae in having the hysteronotal shield with a straight anterior margin, setae h2 enlarged and slightly flattened in the basal half, and the terminal lamella monotonously transparent without sclerotized patches; females differ in having legs IV with ambulacral discs extending to or slightly beyond the level of setae f2. The discovery of P.limosae sp. nov. represents the first record of the feather mite genus Phyllochaeta on godwits of the genus Limosa Brisson, 1760 (Scolopacidae, Limosinae). Males of P.limosae sp. nov. are distinguished from P.secunda in having the terminal cleft semi-ovoid with a length-to-width ratio of 1.7, and the terminal membranes with 15 or 16 finger-shaped denticles; females differ in having the hysteronotal shield bearing faint longitudinal striations in the posterior third and lacking lacunae, and setae c1 situated posterior to the level of setae c2. Additionally, we obtained partial sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene from A. (C.) neolimosaesp. nov. and estimated genetic distances from 10 other Alloptes species based on comparisons of COI sequences.

A new feather mite species of the genus Picalgoides Cerný, 1974 (Astigmata: Psoroptoididae) from a passerine host in Costa Rica.

A new feather mite species, Picalgoides giganteus n. sp. (Psoroptoididae: Pandalurinae), is described from the tawny-throated leaftosser Sclerurus mexicanus Sclater (Passeriformes: Furnariidae) in Costa Rica. Among the 10 species of Picalgoides Cerný, 1974, including the new one, this is the third recorded from a passerine host; the remaining seven nominal species are associated with hosts of the order Piciformes. Brief data on the host-parasite associations of Picalgoides spp. are provided. Megninia megalixus Trouessart, 1885 from the short-tailed green magpie Cissa thalassina (Temminck) is transferred to Picalgoides as P. megalixus (Trouessart, 1885) n. comb.

Feather mites of the subfamily Pterodectinae (Acariformes: Proctophyllodidae) from passerines and kingfishers in Canada.

Investigation of the diversity and taxonomy of feather mites of the subfamily Pterodectinae (Astigmata: Proctophyllodidae) on passerines (Passeriformes) and kingfishers (Coraciiformes: Alcedinidae) in Manitoba revealed 19 species in 5 genera. Of them, eight new species are described, seven of these from passerines and one from a kingfisher: Alaudicola eremophila sp. n. from Eremophila alpestris (Alaudidae), Amerodectes icteri sp. n. from Icterus galbula (Icteridae), A. pheucticus sp. n. from Pheucticus ludovicianus (Cardinalidae), A. tiffanyluiae sp. n. from Oporornis agilis (Parulidae), A. tretiakae sp. n. from Molothrus ater (Icteridae), Tyrannidectes sealyi sp. n. from Tyrannus tyrannus (Linnaeus, 1758) (type host) and Tyrannus verticalis Say, and T. empidonicus sp. n. from Empidonax minimus (Tyrannidae), and Proterothrix megaceryle sp. n. from Megaceryle alcyon (Alcedinidae). Additionally, nine pterodectine species are reported for the first time in the fauna of Canada. Based on re-evaluation of diagnostic charcters, new diagnoses are proposed for the genera Amerodectes, Tyrannidectes, and Metapterodectes, and species contents of these genera are revised. Four species are transferred from the genus Amerodectes to Tyrannidectes with the new combinations proposed: T. caribaeus (Mironov and Gonzlez-Acua, 2011) comb. n., T. charitomenos (Hernandes, 2018) comb. n., T. pitangi (Mironov, 2008) comb. n., T. vireonis (Hernandes and Pedroso, 2016) comb. n. Six species are transferred from the genus Tyrannidectes to Metapterodectes with the new combinations: M. amaurochalinus (Hernandes and Valim, 2006) comb. n., M. cinclodes (Mironov and Gonzlez-Acua, 2011) comb. n., M. crassus (Trouessart, 1885) comb. n., M. falcklandicus (Mironov and Gonzlez-Acua, 2011) comb. n., M. fissuratus (Hernandes and Valim, 2005) comb. n., and M. pteroptochi (Mironov and Gonzlez-Acua, 2015) comb. n.

Feather mites (Acariformes, Astigmata) from marine birds of the Barton Peninsula (King George Island, Antarctica), with descriptions of two new species.

We report on the first investigation of feather mites associated with birds living on the Barton Peninsula (King George Island, Antarctica). We found seven feather mite species of the superfamily Analgoidea from four host species. Two new species are described from two charadriiform hosts: Alloptes (Sternalloptes) antarcticussp. nov. (Alloptidae) from Stercorariusmaccormicki Saunders (Stercorariidae), and Ingrassiachionis sp. nov. (Xolalgidae) from Chionisalbus (Gmelin) (Chionidae). Additionally, we provide partial sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI), which was utilized as a DNA barcode, for all seven feather mite species.

Panoramic Endocardial Optical Mapping Demonstrates Serial Rotors Acceleration and Increasing Complexity of Activity During Onset of Cholinergic Atrial Fibrillation.

Background Activation during onset of atrial fibrillation is poorly understood. We aimed at developing a panoramic optical mapping system for the atria and test the hypothesis that sequential rotors underlie acceleration of atrial fibrillation during onset. Methods and Results Five sheep hearts were Langendorff perfused in the presence of 0.25 µmol/L carbachol. Novel optical system recorded activations simultaneously from the entire left and right atrial endocardial surfaces. Twenty sustained (>40 s) atrial fibrillation episodes were induced by a train and premature stimuli protocol. Movies obtained immediately (Initiation stage) and 30 s (Early Stabilization stage) after premature stimulus were analyzed. Serial rotor formation was observed in all sustained inductions and none in nonsustained inductions. In sustained episodes maximal dominant frequency increased from (mean±SD) 11.5±1.74 Hz during Initiation to 14.79±1.30 Hz at Early Stabilization (P<0.0001) and stabilized thereafter. At rotor sites, mean cycle length (CL) during 10 prerotor activations increased every cycle by 0.53% (P=0.0303) during Initiation and 0.34% (P=0.0003) during Early Stabilization. In contrast, CLs at rotor sites showed abrupt decreases after the rotors appearances by a mean of 9.65% (P<0.0001) during both stages. At Initiation, atria-wide accelerations and decelerations during rotors showed a net acceleration result whereby post-rotors atria-wide minimal CL (CLmin) were 95.5±6.8% of the prerotor CLmin (P=0.0042). In contrast, during Early Stabilization, there was no net acceleration in CLmin during accelerating rotors (prerotor=84.9±11.0% versus postrotor=85.8±10.8% of Initiation, P=0.4029). Levels of rotor drift distance and velocity correlated with atria-wide acceleration. Nonrotor phase singularity points did not accelerate atria-wide activation but multiplied during Initiation until Early Stabilization. Increasing number of singularity points, indicating increased complexity, correlated with atria-wide CLmin reduction (P<0.0001). Conclusions Novel panoramic optical mapping of the atria demonstrates shortening CL at rotor sites during cholinergic atrial fibrillation onset. Atrial fibrillation acceleration toward Early Stabilization correlates with the net result of atria-wide accelerations during drifting rotors activity.

Feather mites (Astigmata: Psoroptidia) parasitising the rock ptarmigan Lagopus muta (Montin) (Aves: Galliformes) in Iceland.

Four new species of feather mites are described from the Icelandic rock ptarmigan Lagopus muta islandorum (Faber) in Iceland. These are Metamicrolichus islandicus n. sp., Myialges borealis n. sp. (Epidermoptidae), Strelkoviacarus holoaspis n. sp. (Analgidae) and Tetraolichus lagopi n. sp. (Pterolichidae). This is the first report on feather mites associated with the Icelandic rock ptarmigan. Brief comments on the systematics and biology of corresponding feather mite genera are given. For two species, originally described in Pterolichus Robin, 1868 (Pterolichidae), new combinations are proposed, i.e. Tetraolichus gaudi (Cerný, 1971) n. comb. and T. microdiscus (Trouessart, 1887) n. comb.