Rallicola

''Rallicola'' is a genus of chewing louse. It is an ectoparasite of rails and other birds. It was named by Thomas Harvey Johnston and Launcelot Harrison in 1911. There are two subgenera aside from the nominotypical subgenus: ''Aptericola'', whose species are found on kiwi birds, and ''Huiacola'', a monospecific subgenus consisting of '' Rallicola extinctus'', once found on the huia.

Taxonomic history

In 1866, Ferdinand Rudow circumscribed the Philopteridae genus '' Trabeculus'' with ''Trabeculus schillingi'' as its type species. In 1870, he created a new genus, ''Oncophorus'' with the same type species, making it an objective junior synonym of ''Trabeculus''. In 1880, Édouard Piaget added more species to ''Oncophorus''. He listed the author citation as "Rud." for Rudow in 1880, but as "m." for ' to indicate himself in 1885.

Thomas Harvey Johnston and Launcelot Harrison created a new genus name, ''Rallicola'', in 1911. A new name was needed as ''Oncophorus'' and ''Oncophorus'' had a senior homonym and senior synonym, respectively. They only included ''Oncophorus'' species that parasitized rails and jacanas, leaving those that parasitized owls and hornbills to other genera.

In 1915, Harrison split the genus into three subgenera: ''Rallicola (Rallicola)'' for species found on Rallidae (rails), ''Rallicola (Parricola)'' for those species found on Parridae, and ''Rallicola (Aptericola)'' for species found on Apterygidae (kiwis). Harrison's 1916 list of Mallophaga species recognized sixteen valid species in ''Rallicola'', one in ''Parricola'' and three in ''Aptericola''.

In 1990, Eberhard Mey described a new species, '' Huiacola extinctus'' and circumscribed a new genus, ''Huiacola'' for it. ''Huiacola'' was subsequently classified as a subgenus of ''Rallicola''.

Type species

Johnston and Harrison designated "''O. attenuatus'' " as its type species. This referred to a species Christian Ludwig Nitzsch named ''Philopterus (Nirmus) attenuatus'', which Édouard Piaget included in his 1880 taxonomy of ''Oncophorus''.

However, Nitzch's use of this name was nomen nudum as it was only accompanied with a queried indication to a previously-described taxon, namely Franz von Paula Schrank's 1781 description of ''Pediculus ortygometrae''. The name only became available in 1838 as ''Nirmus '', when Hermann Burmeister provided the same indication to Schrank but without marking it as questionable.

Synonyms

, six synonyms for this genus are recognized. Hopkins and Clay designated ''Oncophorus bisetosus'' as the type species of Piaget's ''Oncophorus''. Harrison listed the type species of his subgenus ''Parricola'' as "''Rallicola (Parricola) sulcata'' ", i.e., ''Oncophorus sulcatus'' .

Three of its junior synonyms were named and circumscribed by M. A. Carriker, Jr.
Carriker named the genus ''Furnaricola'' in 1944; his circumscription included its type species ''F. acutifrons'' (with two subspecies, ''F. a. acutifrons'' and ''F. a. subsimilis'') as well as ''F. '', ''F. chunchotambo'', ''F. heterocephala'', ''F. laticephala'', ''F. parvigenitalis'', and ''F. titicacae'', which were all described in the same work. In a 1949 paper, he created the genus ''Epipicus'' for his new species ''E. scapanoides''. In another paper published in 1949, he named the genus ''Corvicola'', which consisted of his newly-described species ''C. insulana''. By 1952, Hopkins and Clay had classified ''Furnaricola'', ''Epipicus'', and ''Corvicola'' as junior synonyms of ''Rallicola''. In a 1966 paper, Carriker defended the validity of ''Furnaricola'' as a distinct genus. and treated ''Furnaricola'' as its own genus in 1987, but in 1993 Price and Dale Clayton concurred with Hopkins and Clay's synonymization.

In 1982, circumscribed the genus ''Psophiicola''. Its type species is ''Liperus foedus'' , which he transferred from ''Rallicola''. This was the only species included in his circumscription.

Hosts

In 1953, Theresa Clay reported that ''Rallicola'' have been found on 47 species across 25 genera of Rallidae. ''Rallicola'' can also be found on birds in the Aramidae (limpkins), and Psophiidae (trumpeters) families. The sole '' Huiacola'' species ''R.'' (''H.'') ''extinctus'' was found on the extinct huia bird, in the family Callaeidae. Species in ''Aptericola'' are found on Apterygidae (kiwi birds).

Distribution

The subgenera ''Huiacola'' and ''Aptericola'' are both endemic to New Zealand. Species in the subgenus ''Rallicola'' can be found in North America, the Pacific Islands, and New Zealand. An undescribed ''Rallicola (Rallicola)'' species was recorded in the Galápagos Islands in 2013.

Subgenera and species

Three subgenera are recognized, including the nominate subgenus.

''Rallicola''

''Rallicola'' . Type species: ''Nirmus attenuatus'' . Approximately 90 species, including:

* '' Rallicola acutifrons''
* '' Rallicola advenus''
* '' Rallicola ''
* '' Rallicola chunchotambo''
* '' Rallicola cuspidatus''
* '' Rallicola foedus''
* '' Rallicola funebris''
* '' Rallicola heterocephala''
* '' Rallicola insulana''
* '' Rallicola laticephala''
* '' Rallicola ortygometrae''
* '' Rallicola parvigenitalis''
* '' Rallicola piageti'' - possibly coextinct; host New Caledonian rail
* '' Rallicola scapanoides''
* '' Rallicola titicacae''
* '' Rallicola zumpti''
*'' Rallicola guami'' - probable conservation-induced extinction; host Guam rail

''Aptericola''

''Aptericola'' . Type species: ''Rallicola (Aptericola) gadowi'' . Four species:

* '' Rallicola gadowi''
* '' Rallicola gracilentus''
* '' Rallicola rodericki''
*'' Rallicola pilgrimi'' - conservation-induced extinction; host little spotted kiwi

''Huiacola''

''Huiacola'' . Type species: ''Huiacola extinctus'' . One species:
*'' Rallicola extinctus'' - coextinct; host huia

References

Works cited

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Further reading

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{{Taxonbar, from=Q13654344

Lice
Insect genera
Parasites of birds