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A NEW ORNITHOPHILA (DIPTERA: HIPPOBOSCIDAE) SPECIES FROM BAIKAL STATE NATURE RESERVE (RUSSIA)
Aleksandra A. Yatsuk1* , Alexander V. Matyukhin1 , Valentina I. Anisimova2'3 , Mikhail Yu. Markovets4 , Emilia P. Nartshuk4
lA.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the RAS, Russia *e-mail: sasha_djedi@mail.ru 2Baikalsky State Nature Biosphere Reserve, Russia 3Irkutsk State University, Russia 4Zoological Institute RAS, Russia
Received: 12.02.2024. Revised: 17.04.2024. Accepted: 26.04.2024.
The parasitic family Hippoboscidae is distributed around the world and currently includes more than 200 species. These insects are of high veterinary importance both as carriers of dangerous diseases and as transport for other groups of parasites. The genus Ornithophila is one of the smallest genera among Hippoboscidae. Currently, the genus Ornithophila includes only two species, namely Ornithophila gestroi and O. metallica. These species are full-winged, widely specialised parasites on birds that inhabit the tropics and subtropics of Asia, Africa, Europe, and Central Asia, including Russia and Kazakhstan. During the annual bird ringing in the Baikal State Nature Reserve (Russia), a new Ornithophila (Diptera: Hippoboscidae) species (Ornithophila baikalica sp. nov.) was collected and described. Ornithophila baikalica sp. nov. was found on Arundinax aedon, a bird that breeds in the south of Siberia and the Far East and migrates in winter to Southeast Asia, and sometimes to Egypt, Bhutan, Japan, and Malaysia. Ornithophila baikalica sp. nov. differs from the two other known species of the genus by reducing of tergites 3-5 of the female abdomen to the size of points and in the number of prescutellar setae, namely one long dark seta and several short light seta. Additionally, O. baikalica differs from O. metallica by the wing microtrichia, on which wings they are present, and by the smaller body size, body colour and wing length from O. gestroi. A new key for all three known Ornithophila species is composed.
Key words: Arundinax aedon, louse flies, Palearctic, parasite, two-winged flies
Introduction
The louse flies of the family Hippoboscidae Samouelle, 1819 are spread all over the world (Doszhanov, 1980; Maa & Peterson, 1987). This family of bird and mammal parasites currently includes more than 200 species (Dick, 2018; Obona et al., 2019). The Hippoboscidae species, feeding on blood, are carriers of many dangerous diseases (Bequaert, 1954; Doszhanov, 1980; Kucera, 1983; Gancz et al., 2004; Farajollahi et al., 2005; Kha-metova et al., 2018) and, additionally, transport phoretic mites of the family Epidermoptidae (Fain, 1965; Hill et al., 1967; Philips & Fain, 1991) and Phthiraptera species (Lee et al., 2022).
Species of the genus Ornithophila Rondani, 1879 are full-winged, widely specialised parasites of birds (Doszhanov, 1980). It is one of the smallest genera within Hippoboscidae. Currently, the genus is represented by two species, namely Ornithophila gestroi (Rondani, 1878) and O. metallica (Schiner,
1864) (Dick, 2018). According to Theodor & Old-royd (1964), Ornitheza odontoscelis Speiser 1904 is the third species of this genus. However other authors (e.g. Maa (1969)) consider it only a synonym of the species Ornithophila metallica. Therefore, this species is not listed by Dick (2018).
Ornithophila metallica inhabits the tropics and subtropics of Asia and Africa, Europe, Central Asia, Russia and Kazakhstan (Maa, 1969; Doszhanov, 2003). The list of hosts includes representatives of Apodiformes, Charadriiformes, Columbiformes, Coraciiformes, Cuculiformes, Falconiformes, Galliformes, Passeriformes, Piciformes, Psittaci-formes, Strigiformes, and Trogoniformes (Maa, 1969). Ornithophila gestroi has been noted in the Mediterranean subregion (Maa, 1969; Balgooyen et al., 1999), Romania (Obona et al., 2023), Kazakhstan (Doszhanov, 2003), Armenia (Nartshuk & Matyukhin, 2019), and Mongolia (Nartshuk & Matyukhin, 2019; Ganbold et al., 2020; Jentzsch
et al., 2021). It is assumed that its main host belongs to Falconiformes (Maa, 1969), but it has also been found on representatives of Charadriiformes, Galliformes and Otidiformes (Doszhanov, 2003), and Passeriformes (Obona et al., 2023). Ornitheza odontoscelis inhabits the Balkan coast of the Adriatic Sea. Its host belongs to Turdidae (Maa, 1969).
Ornithomyia metallica has quite a lot of synonyms, namely Olfersia noumeana Bigot 1885, Ornithezapallipes Speiser 1904, Ornitheza submetallica Speiser 1904, Ornithobia capensis Walker 1849, Ornithomyia aenescens Bigot 1885, Ornithomyia andajensis Rondani 1878, Ornithomyia butalis Coquillett 1899, Ornithophila vagans Rondani 1879 (Maa, 1963). According to Maa (1969), Ornitheza odontoscelis, determined as a distinct species, could have acquired its distinctive feature, namely «toothed leg», the sharp, right-angled ventral edge near the knee of midleg, due to mechanical damage, and it can be a synonym of Ornithophila metallica. In any case, Ornitheza odontoscelis differs noticeably from other species and is easily recognised (Theodor & Oldroyd, 1964; Maa, 1969).
Material and Methods
The material was collected in June 2022 in the Baikal Bird Ringing Station of the Baikalsky State Nature Reserve (Russia) during the annual bird ringing. Birds were caught and examined. The Baikal Bird Ringing Station is located on the southeastern coast of Lake Baikal 1.5 km to the southwest of the mouth of the River Mishikha (51.6435° N, 105.5223° E). It is located on the Pribaykalskaya Plain, near the coastline, on one of the migration routes (bounded by the shore of Lake Baikal on one side and the Khamar-Daban Mountains on the other). There are wide open areas (meadows and edges) around the station, which are mixed with bushes, copses, and forests, forming a mosaic of small contours. The birds were caught using a Ry-bachy trap and mist nets, which are installed in the same places every year. The Rybachy trap is installed in a wide open meadow. The mist nets are located around, within a radius of 200 m, mainly between the boundaries of habitats. During June 2022, in total, 626 individuals of 46 bird species were captured and examined.
The new species (one individual) was collected on Arundinax aedon (Pallas, 1776). The habitat of A. aedon in Russia is distributed in the south of Siberia and the Far East. It migrates to spend the winter in Southeast Asia, sometimes to Egypt, Bhutan, Japan, and Malaysia. During the spring migration
(30 May - 16 June), 145 individuals of A. aedon were caught. No nesting individuals of A. aedon were recorded in the vicinity of the Baikal Bird Ringing Station in 2022. Morphological terminology follows Hutson (1984).
Results and Discussion
Order Diptera
Family Hippoboscidae
Genus Ornithophila Rondani, 1879
Diagnosis. The head is transversely elliptic, located between the prominent humeral tubercles. The eyes are large. Ocellus is developed. Humeral tubercles are large. Wings are fully developed and functional. Vein R2+3 is adjacent to costa at the apex half. Tarsal claws are bifid (Doszhanov, 1980, 2003).
Description of the new species
Ornithophila baikalica Yatsuk, Matyukhin & Nartshuk sp. nov. (Fig. 1).
Type material. Holotype: female. The holotype in alcohol is inserted in the collection of the Zoological Institute RAS. Inventory number: INS_DIP_0001107.
Type locality, hosts and habitats. Baikal State Nature Reserve, Republic of Buryatia, Russia. Samples were collected on 07.06.2022 on Arundinax aedon (Pallas, 1776) by E.V. Bukas.
Etymology. The specific epithet comes from the name of Lake Baikal, an environment, in which the new species was found.
Description. Body size (head + thorax) is 2.32.5 mm. Head is dark. Every eye is almost one quarter of head width. Parafrontals in widest part are approximately one half of mediovertex. Postvertex is triangular, with three well-differentiated ocelli near anterior angle. Among 5-6 yellow orbital setae, two are dark at row edges. Antennas are two-coloured with light apex. Palps are equal to lunula length.
Mesonotum is dark-brown with light sides. Humeral tubercles are bicoloured with light apex and dark base. Three setae are humeral, nine are meso-pleural, one is long and black, and two are short yellow postalar, one is long and dark and several short light prescutellar. On posterior mesonotum margin behind postalar setae, there is a group of short dark setae. Scutellum is brown with a light stripe at base and a row of four setae at the apex. At posterior margin of scutellum, there is a fringe of thin yellow setae, interrupted in the middle. Ventral side of thorax is light, with two dark spots. Wing length is 4 mm. There are no microtrichia on the wing membrane. Halters are black. Fore legs are yellow; femora of middle and hind legs are partly black.
Fig. 1. Female of Ornithophila baikalica sp. nov., holotype. Designations: A - general view, dorsal side; B - general view, ventral side; C - mesonotum, dorsal side; D - head, dorsal side; E - abdomen, dorsal side. Scale bars: 0.5 mm.
Female abdomen is light, dorsally and ventrally entirely covered with short setae. There are some long setae on abdomen sides. Tergite 1+2 has a straight posterior margin, and longer and thicker 5-7 setae on lateral posterior corners. In the middle, there is a row of six long setae, located less frequently than the short setae. Tergites 3-5 are reduced to size of points. Tergite 6 is represented by two sclerites with 5-7 setae. Tergite 7 is divided into two semicircular sclerites on anus sides and covered with long setae.
Differential diagnosis
Ornithophila baikalica sp. nov. differs from both other known species of this genus. It differs from Ornithophila gestroi in body size (3.0-4.2 mm in Ornithophila gestroi), wing length (5.5-7.2 mm in Ornithophila gestroi). In addition, Ornithophila gestroi antennae are light, mesonotum is dark, with a wide yellow margin, including the entire humeral tubercles, the notopleura and the narrow margin of the postalar processes. Scutellum has a wide yellow stripe at the base and a preapical yellow spot. In Or-
nithophila gestroi, there are 4-6 long and 9-11 short humeral, 16-18 mesopleural and 7-8 light prescutel-lar setae. A group of short dark setae is absent on the posterior margin of the mesonotum behind the postalar setae. Among the pale orbital setae, long black setae are located anteriorly (Doszhanov, 1980, 2003). On the female abdomen, tergites 3-5 are very small, but not reduced, bean-shaped (Doszhanov, 1980). On the sclerites of tergite 6, there are 12-14 long setae (Doszhanov, 2003). The new species differs from Ornithophila metallica with presence of microtrichia on the wings (Doszhanov, 1980), small but not reduced tergites 3-5 on the female abdomen (Doszhanov, 1980, 2003), only one postalar and one prescutel-lar setae (Theodor & Oldroyd, 1964). Additionally, in Ornithophila metallica, both eyes are almost one third of the width of the head. Among the 4-5 light orbital setae, two are dark, being located in front and in the centre of the row (Doszhanov, 1980, 2003). In this paper, we provide a new dichotomous key of all three Ornithophila species, based on keys from Maa (1963, 1969) and Doszhanov (2003).
A new key to the Ornithophila species
1. Body size is more than 3 mm. Wing length is more than 5 mm.............................................................O. gestroi
- Body size is less than 3 mm. Wing length is less than 5 mm...............................................................................2
2. Tergites 3-5 are reduced to size of points. Wing membrane is without microtrichia..........O. baikalica sp. nov.
- Tergites 3-5 are larger. Wing membrane is with microtrichia............................................................O. metallica
Acknowledgements
We thank Sergei A. Shchedrin (Moscow, Russia) for the photos of the newly described louse fly. We are grateful to all employees and volunteers of the Baikal State Nature Reserve (Russia) and especially to Yuri Anisimov (Tank-hoy, Buryatia Republic, Russia), Ekaterina Bukas (Minsk, Belarus), Ekaterina Eliseeva (Moscow Pedagogical State University, Russia) and Anna Kozlova (Russian Research Institute of Game Management and Fur Farming, Russia). We thank Elena S. Shvarts (A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the RAS, Russia) for English language editing. This study is part of the state research projects of the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the RAS (№FFER-2024-0018) and Zoological Institute RAS (№122031100272-3 and №912203100261-7).
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НОВЫЙ ВИД РОДА ORNITHOPHILA (DIPTERA: HIPPOBOSCIDAE) ИЗ БАЙКАЛЬСКОГО ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОГО ЗАПОВЕДНИКА (РОССИЯ)
А. А. Яцук1, * ,А . В. Матюхин1 , В. И. Анисимова2,3 , М. Ю. Марковец4 , Э. П. Нарчук4
1Институт проблем экологии и эволюции имени А.Н. Северцова РАН, Россия
e-mail: sasha_djedi@mail.ru 2Байкальский государственный природный заповедник, Россия 3Иркутский государственный университет, Россия 4Зоологический институт РАН, Россия
Фауна семейства паразитов Hippoboscidae распространена по всему миру и в настоящее время насчитывает более 200 видов. Эти мухи имеют большое ветеринарное значение как переносчики опасных заболеваний, так и переносчики других групп паразитов. Род Ornithophila - один из самых мелких родов семейства Hippoboscidae, включающий в настоящее время два вида (Ornithophila gestroi и O. metallica). Представители рода Ornithophila - полнокрылые, широко специализированные паразиты птиц, населяющие тропики и субтропики Азии, Африки, Европы и Средней Азии, включая Россию и Казахстан. Во время ежегодного кольцевания птиц в Байкальском государственном природном заповеднике (Россия) собран и описан новый вид из рода Ornithophila (Diptera: Hippoboscidae): Ornithophila baikalica sp. nov. Ornithophila baikalica sp. nov. был обнаружен на Arundinax aedon, виде птиц, гнездящемся на юге Сибири и Дальнего Востока и зимующем в Юго-Восточной Азии, а иногда в Египте, Бутане, Японии и Малайзии. Ornithophila baikalica sp. nov. отличается от всех известных видов рода редукцией тергитов 3-5 брюшка самки до размеров точек и количеством прескутеллярных щетинок, а именно: одна длинная темная и несколько коротких светлых. Кроме того, новый вид отличается от Ornithophila metallica наличием микротрихий на крыльях, а от Ornithophila gestroi - меньшими размерами тела, окраской тела и длиной крыльев.
Ключевые слова: Arundinax aedon, двукрылые мухи, мухи-кровососки, Палеарктика, паразит
