Description of feather mite Proctophyllodes musicus (Acariformes, Proctophyllodidae) obtained from Turdus merula

Abstract

Feather mites (Acariformes, Astigmata) are a large group of species in which mites of the genus Proctophyllodes Robin, 1868. Analgoidea are among the most common parasites of passerines. These mites are permanent obligate ectoparasites localized on the flight feathers, greater wing coverts, and on the tail. Most species of feather mites are characterized by high host specificity. The taxonomy and fauna of feather mites of the genus Proctophyllodes, and their morphological identification characters in different countries of the world are still a matter of research. The aim of our work was to describe the morphological features and metric parameters of feather mites of the species P. musicus Vitzthum, 1922, isolated from the common blackbird Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 in Ukraine. 32 parameters are determined in males and females of P. musicus mites, which characterize both their general structure of the body and sexual dimorphism. The structure and sizes of the body, gnathosoma, idiosoma, prodorsal and hysteronotal shields, epimerites I, setae cp and c3, and the distance between setae of the scapula se–se and si–si are described. In males, the sizes of adanal sucker discs, epigastric shields, genital arch, setae ps2, h3, h2, the distance between setae 4a–4a, g–g, ps3–ps3, ps1–ps1 are additionally described and determined. Lamellae in males are wide, tongue-shaped, do not overlap. The aedeagus is short, slightly extending beyond the posterior margin of the genital arch. In female mites, the dimensions of the lobar shield, terminal appendages, and terminal recess are additionally described and determined, taking into account the location of setae ps1, h2, the dimensions of setae cp, c3, h3, h2, the distance between setae h1–h1, the distance between hysteronotal and lobar shields. The mite eggs were measured in the body of the female and on the feathers of the birds. The scientific data obtained in this study expand the already existing data on morphological and metric characters of feather mites of the species P. musicus (Proctophyllodidae) isolated from the common blackbird.