FIRST REPORT OF CICONIPHILUS DECIMFASCIATUS (AMBLYCERA: MENOPONIDAE) IN CASMERODIUS ALBUS (AVES: CICONIIFORMES) FROM BRAZIL

PRIMEIRO RELATO DE CICONIPHILUS DECIMFASCIATUS (AMBLYCERA: MENOPONIDAE) EM CASMERODIUS ALBUS (AVES: CICONIIFORMES) NO BRASIL

ABSTRACT

This article reports, for the first time in Brazil, the occurrence of the louse Ciconiphilus decimfasciatus parasitizing the great egret (Casmerodius albus) from the state of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil.

KEY WORDS
Ciconiphilus decimfasciatus ; Casmerodius albus ; louse; great egret; Ciconiiformes; Phthiraptera

RESUMO

Este trabalho registra, pela primeira vez no Brasil, a ocorrência do piolho Ciconiphilus decimfasciatus parasitando garça-brancagrande (Casmerodius albus) no Estado do Rio Grande do Sul.

PALAVRAS-CHAVE
Ciconiphilus decimfasciatus ; Casmerodius albus ; piolho; garça-branca-grande; Ciconiiformes; Phthiraptera

The genus Ciconiphilus Bedford, 1939, contains 14 recognized species of lice, whose known distribution is limited to certain hosts of the orders Ciconiiformes and Anseriformes (PRICE & BEER, 1965b). This genus is one of the Colpocephalum – a complex of the family Menoponidae, which comprises all genera with ctenidia on the venter of the third femur (CLAY, 1969). The birds of the order Ciconiiformes are represented by 4 families in Brazil and three in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, one of these, the family Ardeidae, comprises the egrets and herons (BENCK, 2001). According to SICK (2001) various species of this family occur in all continents, as Casmerodius albus. BRANDS (2005), recognize Casmerodius as a valid genus, but INFONATURA (2005) place this genusas a junior synonym of Ardea; in this work, we prefer to use Casmerodius, more common among South American ornithologists. In November, 2002, was received in the Center for Wildlife Recovery (Núcleo de Reabilitação da Fauna Silvestre/CETAS) of the University Federal of Pelotas (31º 47’ L.S. and 52º 25’ L.W.) one specimen of great egret (Casmerodius albus) for recovery and posterior return to nature. Were collected 38 lice from the body surface which were clarified in Andre’s fluid, dehydrated in ethanol, treated with in Creosote and mounted on permanent slides with Canada Balsam. In evaluating the character "venter of third femur with ctenidia", it was concluded that the lice is from the Colpocephalum complex of Menoponidae; in this complex, only 2 genera parasite birds of the order Ciconiiformes: Colpocephalum and Ciconiphilus. Two works, PRICE & BEER (1965a) and PRICE & EMERSON (1967), revised the species of Colpocephalum that parasite the Ciconiiformes, but report that all species (45) of this genus, are parasitic in other families, not on Ardeidae. Another work, PRICE & BEER (1965b), revised the species of the genus Ciconiphilus and reported that C. decimfascaitus, together with the closely related C. melanolophi, represents the only Ciconiphilus known from the family Ardeidae. By the examination of the male genitalia (specific character) and other features, it was concluded that the louse is Ciconiphilus descimfasciatus (BOISDUVAL & LACORDAIRE, 1835). This parasite has been described parasitizing 24 species of Ardeidae worldwide and in Casmerodius albus in USA, Mexico, Nicaragua and Madagascar. This report characterizes the first occurrence of C. decimfasciatus on C. albus in Brazil and South America.

REFERENCES

• BENCKE, G.A. Lista de referência das aves do Rio Grande do Sul Porto Alegre: Fund. Zoobotânica do Rio Grande do Sul, 2001. 104p. (Pub. Avulsas FZB; 10)
• BRANDS, S.J (comp) 1989-2005 Systema naturae 2000. Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Available from: < http://sn2000.taxonomy.nl> . Acessed on: 18 May 2005.
  » http://sn2000.taxonomy.nl
• CLAY, T. A key to the genera of the Menoponidae (Amblycera: Mallophaga: Insecta.) Bulletim of the British Museum (Natural History) Entomology, v.24, n.1, p.3-26, 1969
• INFONATURA. Birds, mammals and amphibians of Latin America (Web application) 2005. Version 4.0. Arlington, Virginia (USA) Nature Serve. Avaliable from: < http://.natureserve.org/infonatura> . Acessed on: 18 May 2005.
  » http://.natureserve.org/infonatura
• PRICE, R.D. & BEER, J.R. A review of Ciconiphilus Bedford (Mallophaga: Menoponidae). Canadion Entomologist, v.97, n.6, p.657-666, 1965b.
• PRICE, R.D. & BEER, J.R. The Colpocephalum (Mallophaga: Menoponidae) of Cicconiiformes. AnnalsEntomological Society of America, v.58, n.1, p.111-131, 1965a.
• PRICE, R.D. & EMERSON, K.C. Two new species of Colpocephalum (Mallophaga: Menoponidae) from Neotropical Cicconiiformes. Annals Entomological Society of America, v.60, n.1, p.875-878, 1967.
• SICK, H. Ornitologia brasileira 3 imp. Rio de Janeiro: Ed. Nova Fronteira, 2001. 912p.: il.

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  15 Apr 2022
• Date of issue
  Apr-Jun 2005

History

• Received
  09 June 2005
• Accepted
  30 June 2005