Abstract
Four new species of Brueelia Kéler, 1936 are described and illustrated. All of them parasitize African endemic host species in the families Passeridae, Ploceidae, and Estrildidae (Passeriformes). They are: Brueelia pofadderensis sp. nov. ex Passer melanurus damarensis Reichenow, 1902 and P. m. vicinus Clancey, 1958; B. semiscalaris sp. nov. ex Granatina granatina (Linnaeus, 1758); B. sima sp. nov. ex Malimbus nitens (Gray, 1831); B. terpsichore sp. nov. ex Euplectes jacksoni (Sharpe, 1891) and E. progne delamerei (Shelley, 1903). In addition, Brueelia bicurvata (Piaget, 1880) is redescribed and reillustrated from non-type material. A summary of all published records of lice in the Brueelia complex from Africa since 1980 is provided. We also estimate the unknown diversity of African species of Brueelia based on an index of host specificity calculated for each host family independently. The unknown diversity is estimated to be over 1000 species of Brueelia from African hosts, compared to the < 50 species in this genus currently recorded from Africa.
Highlights
The chewing lice of African songbirds have long been poorly known (Ledger 1980; Gustafsson & Bush 2015; Light et al 2016; Takano et al 2017, 2018)
In his summary of the chewing lice known from sub-Saharan Africa, Ledger (1980) listed only 3 species of Meropoecus Eichler, 1940, 36 species of Brueelia Kéler, 1936 and 16 species of Sturnidoecus Eichler, 1944
Only 25 species have been recorded from birds that breed in sub-Saharan Africa; the remaining lice in the list in Ledger (1980) concern species known from hosts that migrate to Africa from Eurasia
Summary
The chewing lice of African songbirds have long been poorly known (Ledger 1980; Gustafsson & Bush 2015; Light et al 2016; Takano et al 2017, 2018). Very few species of lice belonging to the Brueelia complex (sensu Gustafsson & Bush 2017) have ever been reported from Africa In his summary of the chewing lice known from sub-Saharan Africa, Ledger (1980) listed only 3 species of Meropoecus Eichler, 1940, 36 species of Brueelia Kéler, 1936 and 16 species of Sturnidoecus Eichler, 1944 (note that Ledger overlooked the many African species of Sturnidoecus described in Ansari 1968). Only 25 species have been recorded from birds that breed in sub-Saharan Africa; the remaining lice in the list in Ledger (1980) concern species known from hosts that migrate to Africa from Eurasia. The lack of descriptions, illustrations and identification keys for African lice of the Brueeliacomplex limits our understanding of the biogeography and evolution of these lice and their host associations
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