Molecular phylogenetics of the avian feather louse Philopterus-complex (Phthiraptera: Philopteridae)

Stanislav Kolencik; Kevin P Johnson; Avery R Grant; Michel P Valim; Kamila M D Kuabara; Jason D Weckstein; Julie M Allen

doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2022.107556

Molecular phylogenetics of the avian feather louse Philopterus-complex (Phthiraptera: Philopteridae)

Mol Phylogenet Evol. 2022 Sep:174:107556. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2022.107556. Epub 2022 Jun 20.

Authors

Stanislav Kolencik¹, Kevin P Johnson², Avery R Grant³, Michel P Valim⁴, Kamila M D Kuabara⁵, Jason D Weckstein⁵, Julie M Allen³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biology, University of Nevada, Reno, 1664 N. Virginia Street, Reno, NV 89557, USA. Electronic address: stanislav.kolencik@gmail.com.
² Illinois Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Champaign, IL 61820, USA.
³ Department of Biology, University of Nevada, Reno, 1664 N. Virginia Street, Reno, NV 89557, USA.
⁴ Universidade Iguaçu, Nova Iguaçu, Rio de Janeiro 28300-000, Brazil.
⁵ Department of Ornithology, Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University and Department of Biodiversity, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, Drexel University, 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA.

PMID: 35738542
DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2022.107556

Abstract

The avian feather louse Philopterus-complex (Phthiraptera: Ischnocera: Philopteridae) currently contains 12 genera that have been grouped together because of shared morphological characteristics. Although previously lumped into a single genus (Philopterus), more recent morphological treatments have separated the group into several different genera. Here we evaluate the status of these genera using DNA sequence data from 118 ingroup specimens belonging to ten genera in the Philopterus-complex: Australophilopterus Mey, 2004, Cinclosomicola Mey 2004, Clayiella Eichler, 1940, Corcorides Mey, 2004, Mayriphilopterus Mey, 2004, Paraphilopterus Mey 2004, Philopteroides Mey 2004, Philopterus Nitzsch, 1818, Tyranniphilopterus Mey, 2004, and Vinceopterus Gustafsson, Lei, Chu, Zou, and Bush, 2019. Our sampling includes 97 new louse-host association records. Our analyses suggest that the genus Debeauxoecus Conci, 1941, parasitic on pittas (Aves: Pittidae), is outside of the Philopterus-complex, and that there is strong support for the monophyly of a group containing the remaining genera from the complex. Some diverse genera, such as Philopterus (sensu stricto) and Mayriphilopterus are supported as monophyletic, whereas the genera Australophilopterus, Philopteroides, and Tyranniphilopterus are not. The present study is the largest phylogenetic reconstruction of avian lice belonging to the Philopterus-complex to date and suggests that further generic revision is needed in the group to integrate molecular and morphological information.

Keywords: Chewing lice; DNA; Molecular biology; Species complex; Taxonomy.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Animals
Anoplura*
Bird Diseases* / genetics
Bird Diseases* / parasitology
Feathers
Ischnocera* / anatomy & histology
Ischnocera* / genetics
Passeriformes* / parasitology
Phthiraptera* / genetics
Phylogeny