A new species of the feather mite genus Amerodectes Valim et Hernandes, 2010 (Acariformes: Proctophyllodidae) from Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus (Passeriformes: Icteridae) in Oregon

Abstract

A new feather mite species, Amerodectes xanthocephali sp. n. (Astigmata: Proctophyllodidae: Pterodectinae), is described from the Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus (Bonaparte) (Passeriformes: Icteridae) in Oregon, USA. The new species A. xanthocephali is most close to A. sicalis Mironov et Gonzlez-Acua 2011, A. phrygilus Mironov et Gonzlez-Acua 2011 and A. zonotrichiae Mironov et Gonzlez-Acua 2014. Males of A. xanthocephali differ from these species in having the aedeagus extending to the posterior margin of anal suckers (vs. to the midlevel of these suckers in A. phrygilus and A. zonotrichiae, and to the anterior end of terminal cleft in A. sicalis). Females of A. xanthocephali most clearly differ from these species in having the apodemes of oviporus separated from epimerites IIIa (vs. fused), the anterior hysteronotal and the lobar shields completely separated from each other (vs. connected ventro-laterally), and the posterior end of fused epimerites I tridentate (vs. with a short median extension). A brief review of taxonomic works on the Amerodectes is provided.