71 John Clark Four parasitic mite families newly recorded* from New Zealand

John M. Clark 420 Bower Ave, Parklands, Christchurch 8083 [email protected]

Abstract

Four parasitic mite families (three in birds) are newly recorded from New Zealand. A brief diagnosis is provided for each family. Harpirhynchidae are recorded from greenfinch Carduelis carduelis. Syringophilidae are recorded from a feather/skin digest of a gannet Sula serrator and from the primary and secondary quills of a house sparrow Passer domesticus. Dermoglyphidae, Dermoglyphus passerinus Gaud, 1971, is reported from inside a primary feather of a male house sparrow. Johnstonianidae Paraplothrombium Robaux 1968 is recorded as an adult from a mesic forest floor.

Keywords: Harpirhynchidae, Syringophilidae, Johnstonianidae, Dermoglyphidae, New Zealand mites

Introduction

Mites form an important parasitic fauna. This note records four parasitic families in New Zealand that are absent from checklists (Sirvid et al, (2009); Bishop & Heath, (1998); Tenquist and Charleston, (1981, 2001) and Mironov & Galloway, (2002)). The Harpirhynchidae and Syringophilidae, are obligate Cheyletoid bird skin or quill parasites. Dermoglyphidae are psoroptid which also inhabit feather quills. Johnstonianidae are parasitengonids known to be parasitic only as a larvae on insects such as diptera, especially midges and mosquitos but also on coleptera pupae (Newell, 1957). Adult johnstonianids are cosmopolitan free-living predators in mesic habitats.

* Note added in proof: Since the writing of this manuscript another record of Syringophilidae from New Zealand has been reported (Marciniak et al., 2019). The Weta 53: 71-80 72 The Dermoglyphidae is recorded from NZ in Tenquist & Charleston (1981, 2001). They placed Falculifer rostratus Buchholz 1869 in the Dermoglyphidae in their checklist. This would have followed veterinary literature of the time (Soulsby, 1971). Falculifer rostratus was reported as possibly biting humans in Heath et al (1971). However, Falculifer is now the type genus of the family Falculiferidae. The Tenquist & Charleston (1981, 2001) record for Dermoglyphidae in NZ is therefore invalid.

The Johnstonianidae are regarded as morphologically and ecologically unusual in the Parasitengona. They occupy mesic habitats somewhat between the true water mites or subcohorts Hydrachniae and the terrestrial Trombidiae (Newell, 1947; Walter, 2009). The family has been placed in the Trombiculoidea by Walter et al (2009) and in the Trombidoidea by Mąkol & Wohltmann (2012). See Robaux (1973) for a discussion on this question. Newell (1957) comments that the larval mites do not become firmly attached to their host the way other parasitengonids do; no stylophore develops and the mites are easily detached.

Diagnosis of families - Based on the keys in Krantz & Walter (2009)

Harpirhynchidae Dubinin 1957: Cheyletoid with soft oval weak dorsal shields. Bird parasites on feathers or skin or under skin. Some under reptile scales. Styliform, needle-like retractable chelicera. Peritremes open at chelicera bases. Spins silken retreats.

Syringophilidae Lavoipierre 1953: Cheyletoid. Elongate body. Parasites found within the bases of larger feather quills. Stylophore containing chelicerae fused to subcapitulum to form gnathosomic capsule used to pierce the quill to feed on fluids. Palptibia claw absent.

Dermoglyphidae Mégnin & Trouessart 1883: Psoroptid astigmatina; bird quill parasites; body elongate; terminal anus; epigynum absent; tarsal proral setae (p & q) absent; two ventral setae on tarsus IV; chelae chelate; legs III & IV inserted ventrally; Gaud (1974) presents a history and discussion of the family characters and affinities; a diagnosis of Dermoglyphus Mégnin 1877 and a description of D. passerinus.

Johnstonianidae Newell 1957: Parasitengonae (larvae parasitic on insects), Trombididae - chelicera with movable digit bladelike. Adult with 73 John Clark hypertrichous idiosoma and appendages; terrestrial, mesic. Pregenital tubercle absent. Idionotum lacking fingerlike projections. Idionotal setae lightly barbed, set on small platelets. Palptibia long, tapered, accessory claw large, equal to terminal palp claw and inserted ventrally; palptrochanter fenestrated.

Materials and Methods

Harpirhynchidae & Syringophilidae

From 1990 – 1999 while living in Inglewood, I examined, dissected or skinned dead birds to recover parasitic mites. Cadavers came from our family cat, road-killed birds and the Taranaki museum's freezer. Birds were skinned; the skins were digested with caustic soda (NaOH) to free the parasitic mites of the feathers, skin and subcutaneous tissue. The mites were filtered from the digests (#200 mesh/inch), neutralised, cleared in Nesbitt's fluid and mounted in Hoyer’s gum chloral for microscopic examination. A road-killed male sparrow was collected in Christchurch on 19 June 2018. The primary flight feather hollow proximal base (calamus) was split lengthwise with a scalpel and searched with a microscope for quill mites. Photos and drawings of the mites were used for identification to family level using Krantz & Walter (2009) and Baker (1999) and other papers listed below. The late Alex Fain of Brussels identified the Syringophilidae to family level. That identification was checked using Bochkov & Mironov (1998).

Dermoglyphidae

When a domestic cat was eating a male house sparrow in Christchurch on 12 June 2018, I recovered a set of primary feathers and examined them for quill mites by splitting them lengthwise with a scalpel under a dissecting microscope. A single female mite was collected, cleared in Nesbitt's fluid and mounted in Hoyer’s gum chloral for examination and identification. Species level identification was possible using Gaud (1974).

Johnstonianidae

A Tullgren extract was made of leaves and twigs from decaying forest floor vegetation under mesic tawa/kamahi forest from the State Highway 3A The Weta 53: 71-80 74 stormwater drain flowing into the Maketawa River near Inglewood, Taranaki, S39°, E174° on 6 June 1997. Mites were cleared in Nesbitt’s fluid (acidic chloral hydrate) and mounted on microscope slides in Hoyer’s gum chloral medium for microscopic examination and long-term storage. Generic level identification was possible using Robaux, 1968.

Results

Harpirhynchidae

Figures 1 & 2. Host 1, Greenfinch, Male. Caught by cat. 21 June. 1992. JMC#320. The caustic soda (NaOH) digest of skin and feathers produced c.6 harpirhynchid mites but their cuticle was undermined so they were in pieces. Figure 1 is a composite drawing showed enough characters to make a positive identification to the family level. As a composite drawing, there are inaccuracies, but I am only claiming identification to the family level here.

Figure 1: Harpirhynchidae. Free-hand composite sketch from 6 mites from feather and skin digest of greenfinch host 1, JMC#320, Inglewood, 21 June 1992. scale bar = 100µ. 75 John Clark Figure 2 (previous page): Harpirhynchidae. Photo of page 76 of author's lab book showing mite location on #512, greenfinch host 2; lores (between eyes and ears) and silk tent holding female and eggs. Key text, "maggot- like body with female mite at (feather) base and red/yellow eggs behind her. Then (hatched) eggshells (which are) clear" 20 September 2000.

Figure 2, Host 2, is a photocopy of the notes made on an external examination of the host bird, greenfinch JMC#512, 20 Sept 2000. Col: Diana Clark, Road-killed, Inglewood. The female mite was visible on the rachis of facial feathers at the head of a greasy web containing eggs.

Syringophilidae

Figure 3. Host; Australasian Gannet (Sula bassana serrator), found dead on Taranaki coast. January 1991. JMC#398. Ex. Taranaki Museum. The host skin, in addition to the Syringophilidae mites, held a large population of parasitic hypopodes (deutonymphs) of Suladectes hughesae antipodus Fain & Clark 1994 (Hypoderatidae) which we were studying at that time. From the base of the primary quills of the road-killed house sparrow from Christchurch, eight syringophilid mites were collected Figure 4.

Figure 3: Syringophilidae from a skin and feather digest of female adult gannet host JMC#398 collected on the Taranaki coast, January 1991. The Weta 53: 71-80 76 Figure 4 (previous page): Syringophilidae from within a primary quill (feather) of a male house sparrow collected in Christchurch. Mite is 580Μ long, 130µ wide.

Dermoglyphidae

Figure 5. Dermoglyphus passerinus Gaud 1974 was isolated from a primary quill of a male house sparrow. Cat caught, New Brighton, Christchurch. 12 June 2018.

Figure 5: Dermoglyphidae: Dermoglyphus passerinus Gaud, 1974, female, 680µ long 250µ wide, from primary feather quill of male Passer domesticus, New Brighton, 12 June 2018.

Johnstonianidae

Figure 6. This sample collected 6 June 1997 provided a single specimen of a Johnstonianidae mite which remained unidentified at family level by the author until c. 2016.

Deposition of material

The permanent slides are to be deposited in the Canterbury Museum. 77 John Clark

Figure 6: Johnstonianidae. Paraplothrombium sp. Female collected by Tullgren funnel from wet forest floor/roadside ditch, Maketawa R. SH 3A near Inglewood, Taranaki. Length from post body to chelae tips = 1450µ.

Discussion

The Harpirhynchidae collected from two host greenfinches may represent a single species. The drawing and notes from host 2 are consistent with what is observed in Harpirhynchus novoplumaris Moss Oliver & Nelson 1968. That species is known to be found on the head and neck of the host where the female mite feeds at the feather base and forms a silken sheath over both her and her eggs. However, because the specimens from host 1 were from skin and feather digest, the location on that host is not known. Hirst (1922) recorded Harpirhynchus nidulans Nitzsch 1818 giving rise to tumours or cysts in the skin in a number of bird species including pigeons. Lawrence (1959) figures the palp and some setae from Harpirhynchus pilirostris Berlese & Trouessart 1889 which agree closely with my greenfinch material. The Weta 53: 71-80 78 That species has been collected from Passer domesticus in France.

The prostigmatine Syringophilidae somewhat resemble the astigmatine Dermoglyphidae which also live within feather quills as do Syringobiidae and several other families of Astigmatina (O'Connor, 2009). However, the Syringophilidae have needle like stylet chelicerae while the Dermoglyphidae have chelate chelicerae for grasping and crushing. The syringophilids have a more elongate idiosoma than dermoglyphids and possess rayed empodia as well as other distal tarsal and pretarsal differences. Further, the Dermoglyphidae have only 10 described species (OConnor, 2009) while Syringophilidae has more than 150 described species (Walter et al, 2009). Syringophilidae are very host specific. See diagnosis notes above and the keys in Krantz and Walter (2009) for the separation of these families. An introductory account of the biology of cheyletoid quill mites of passerines can be found in Bochkov & Galloway (2001). The study of the Harpirhynchidae, Syringophilidae and the Dermoglyphidae in NZ birds could be advanced through examining the quill contents of study skins held in museums. Studies on NZ bird feather mite fauna invariably ignore quill contents (e.g. Mironov & Galloway, 2002).

The Johnstonianidae adult reported here answers best to Paraplothrombium Robaux 1968, a monotypic genus (Mąkol & Wohlmann, 2012) holding P. problematicum collected in Chile, South America from forest litter near Los Vilos S31°, W71°in the Bosque de Canelo Forest. From Tasmania, Seeman (Diessen, 2016) lists Paraplothrombium as present. The family is now recorded from New Zealand, Tasmania and Chile. This NZ specimen is almost certainly an endemic. Johnstonianidae have a poor human-assisted travelling record (Newell,1968 p.441). In April 2018 the author found that roadworks had removed the habitat where this specimen was collected.

In addition to the family diagnosis above, the following is noted to support my contention the mite belongs in Paraplothrombium Robaux, 1968: Crista metopica and structures called “shark fins” by Robaux are similar to Diplothrombium Robaux. Posterior sensillae thin, smooth; anterior sensillae replaced by pair of normal setae; anterior propodosomal scutum (a wide blunt naso) is separated from the posterior scutum by a furrow.

79 John Clark Acknowledgements

Anne Baker provided useful literature. The late Alex Fain identified the Syringophilidae. Allen Heath and Ricardo Palma encouraged me long ago. Diana Clark collected a dead greenfinch. Ron Lambert allowed me access to the Taranaki Museum Freezer. The cats allowed me access to their prey. Matthew Shaw commented on a draft.

References

Baker, A. S. 1999. Mites and ticks of domestic . An identification guide and information source. The Stationary Office, Natural History Museum, London. Bishop, D. & Heath, A. C. G. 1998. Checklist of ectoparasites of birds in New Zealand. Surveillance 25 (special issue). Bochkov, A. V. & Galloway, T. D. 2001. Parasitic cheyletoid mites (: Cheyletoidea) associated with passeriform birds (Aves: Passeriformes) in Canada. Canadian Journal of Zoology 79: 2014-2028. Bochkov, A. V. & Mironov, S. V. 1998. Quill mites of the family Syringophilidae Lavoipierre, 1953 (Acariformes: ) parasitic on birds (Aves) of the fauna of the former USSR. Acarina 6: 3-16. Diessen, M. M. M. 2016. Are moorland invertebrates resilient to fire? PhD thesis, University of Tasmania. Appendix 1, p.190, Identification of taxa (Owen Seeman). Gaud, J. 1974. Quelques espèces nouvelles de plumicoles (Analgidae et Dermoglyphidae) parasites d'oiseaux d'Europe. Acarologia 15: 727-758. Heath, A. C. G. 2010. Checklist of ectoparasites of birds in New Zealand: additions and corrections. Surveillance 37: 12-17. Heath, A. C. G., Millthorpe, A. P., & Eves, N. 1971 Pigeon mites and human infestation. New Zealand Entomologist 5: 90-92. Hirst, S. 1922. Mites injurious to domestic animals (with an appendix on the acarine disease of hive bees). Economic series: Number 13. British Museum (Natural History), London. Krantz, G. W. & Walter, D. E. (eds.) 2009. Manual of Acarology (3rd edition), Texas Tech University Press. Lawrence, R. F. 1959. Acariens (Harpyrhynchidae, Listrophoridae) noveaux ou peu connus, parasites d'oiseaux et de mammiferes. Acarologia 1: 106-118. Mąkol, J. & Wohlmann, A. 2012 An annotated checklist of terrestrial Parasitengona (Actinotrichida: Prostigmata) of the world, excluding Trombiculidae and Walchiidae. Annales Zoologici 62: 359-562. Marciniak, M., Skoracki, M., & Hromada, M. 2019. Peristerophila nestoriae, a new species of quill mite of the family Syringophilidae (Acariformes: Prostigmata) parasitizing New Zealand Kaka Nestor meridionalis (Gmelin) (Psittaciformes: Strigopidae). New Zealand Journal of Zoology 46: 348-352. Mironov, S. V., & Galloway, T. D. 2002. New feather mite taxa (Acari: Analgoidea) and mites collected from native and introduced birds in New Zealand. Acarologia 42: 185-201. The Weta 53: 71-80 80 Moss, W. W., Oliver, J. H. Jr., & Nelson, B. C. 1968 Karyotypes and developmental stages of Harpirhynchus novoplumaris sp. n. (Acari: Cheyletoidea: Harpirhynchidae), a parasite of North American birds. Journal of Parasitology 54: 377-392. Newell, I. M. 1957. Studies on the Johnstonianidae (Acari, Parasitengona). Pacific Science 11: 396-466. OConnor, B. M. 2009. Chapter 16. Cohort Astigmatina. In Krantz, G. W. & Walter, D. E. (eds.) Manual of Acarology (3rd edition), Texas Tech University Press, pp. 565- 657. Robaux, P. 1968 Thrombidiidae d'Amérique du sud. I – Tanaupodinae, Johnstonianinae, Thrombellini (Acarina-Thrombidiidae). Acarologia 10: 450-466. Robaux, P. 1973. Importance de l’étude des charactères morphologiques, de la biologies et de l'écologie a toutes les stases, pour établir la phylogénèse des acariens voisins des thrombidions. Acarologia 15: 121-128. Sirvid, P. J., Zhang, Z.-Q., Harvey, M. S., Rhode, B. E., Cook, D. R., Bartsch, I. & Staples, D. A. 2009. Chapter 6. Phylum Arthropoda, Subphylum : horseshoe crabs, sea spiders, . In Gordon, D. (ed.) New Zealand inventory of Biodiversity. Volume 2. Kingsom Animalia. Chaetognatha, Ecdysozoa, Ichnofossils. University of Canterbury Press, pp. 50-89. Soulsby, E. J. L. 1971 Helminthes, and protozoa of domesticated animals. (6th edition of Mönnig's Veterinary Helminthology and Entomology). London Baillère, Tindall and Cassell. Tenquist, J. D. & Charleston, W. A. G. 1981 An annotated checklist of ectoparasites of the terrestrial mammals in New Zealand. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 11: 257-285. Tenquist, J. D. & Charleston, W. A. G. 2001. A revision of the annotated checklist of ectoparasites of terrestrial mammals in New Zealand. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 31: 481-542. Wohltmann, A., Mąkol, J., & Gabryś, G. 2004 A revision of European Johnstonianinae Thor, 1935 (Acari: Prostigmata: Parasitengona: Trombidoidea). Annales Zoologici 54: 595-630. Walter, D. E., Lindquist, E. E., Smith, I. M., Cook, D. R., & Krantz, G. W. 2009. Chapter 13. Order . In Krantz, G. W. & Walter, D. E. (eds.) Manual of Acarology (3rd edition), Texas Tech University Press. pp. 233-420.