Norntates PUBLISHED by the AMERICAN MUSEUM of NATURAL HISTORY CENTRAL PARK WEST at 79TH STREET, NEW YORK, N.Y
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
AMERICAN MUSEUM Norntates PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY CENTRAL PARK WEST AT 79TH STREET, NEW YORK, N.Y. 10024 Number 3052, 19 pp., 9 figures, 1 table December 14, 1992 Sucking Lice (Insecta, Anoplura) from Indigenous Sulawesi Rodents: a New Species of Polyplax from a Montane Shrew Rat, and New Information About Polyplax wallacei and P. eropepli LANCE A. DURDEN' AND GUY G. MUSSER2 ABSTRACT Polyplax melasmothrixi, a new species of po- from Eropeplus canus from tropical upper mon- lyplacid sucking louse, is described from Melas- tane rain forest also in Central Sulawesi. Host and mothrix naso, a small-bodied shrew rat known habitat associations for these three species ofsuck- only from tropical upper montane rain forest in ing lice are discussed. Polyplax melasmothrixi and Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. The male ofPolyplax P. eropepli are both known only from montane wallacei is described from specimens collected from habitats in Central Sulawesi and both appear to Bunomys chrysocomus trapped in tropical lowland be host specific (to M. naso and E. canus, respec- evergreen rain forest in Central Sulawesi. A further tively). Contrastingly, P. wallacei parasitizes two specimen ofPolyplax eropepli, a taxon previously species ofBunomys in lowland forests and is known known only from the type series, is documented from North and Central Sulawesi. INTRODUCTION Melasmothrix naso, Bunomys chrysoco- Musser and Holden, 1991). The shrew rat, mus, and Eropeplus canus are three murine M. naso, and the large-bodied E. canus have rodents found only in forests on the Indo- been recorded only from montane rainforest nesian island of Sulawesi (Musser, 1987; formations in the mountainous central part I Assistant Professor and Assistant Curator, Institute of Arthropodology and Parasitology, Georgia Southern Uni- versity, Landrum Box 8056, Statesboro, Georgia 30460. Research Associate, Department ofEntomology, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560. 2 Archbold Curator, Department of Mammalogy, American Museum of Natural History. Copyright C© American Museum of Natural History 1992 ISSN 0003-0082 / Price $2.60 2 AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES NO. 3052 of the island. Bunomys chrysocomus also oc- Information derived from these descrip- curs in montane forest but is most frequently tive surveys will also be significant in a wider encountered at lower altitudes in lowland context. Eventually, phylogenetic data will be tropical evergreen rain forest. These three available for both hosts and parasites, and species of rats are phylogenetically distant hypotheses focusing on host-parasite coevo- from each other, but they share, in addition lution can be formulated and tested. The re- to their endemicity to Sulawesi, an important lationships between ectoparasites and their trait: they are all parasitized by species of hosts have always intrigued biologists. Re- sucking lice (Anoplura) belonging to the ge- cently, a growing body of literature has de- nus Polyplax. scribed coevolution between groups of hosts The descriptions of these lice, along with and parasites based on comparisons of their notes about the rodent hosts and their hab- phylogenies (Brooks, 1988; Hafner and Nad- itats, form the body ofthe present report. We ler, 1988, 1990; Hellenthal and Price, 1991; describe and illustrate a new species of Po- May and Anderson, 1983; Page, 1991; Toft lyplax based on specimens removed from the and Karter, 1990) as well as apparent coevo- fur of Melasmothrix naso. We also describe lution that in reality reflects host-induced the male of Polyplax wallacei, a louse origi- morphology of the parasite (Downes, 1990). nally known only by female examples (Dur- Preceding this more complex level ofanalysis den, 1987); this ectoparasite has been col- are surveys simply describing the parasites lected from Bunomys chrysocomus trapped and documenting their host species; the re- in lowland evergreen rain forest in north- sults that we present here reflect that level of eastern and Central Sulawesi, and from Bun- inquiry. omys fratrorum, which occurs only in the northeast arm of the island. Finally, we doc- ABBREVIATIONS AND PROCEDURES ument an additional specimen of Polyplax Specimens examined and referred to here eropepli, which until now was only known are deposited in the collections of the Amer- from the type series; this louse is apparently ican Museum of Natural History, New York a specific parasite of Eropeplus canus. (AMNH); the Natural History Museum, Durden and Musser (1991) have summa- London (BMNH); Lance A. Durden (LAD); rized the taxa of sucking lice and their hosts Museum Zoologicum Bogoriense, Bogor, In- so far recorded from Sulawesi. The present donesia (MZB); South Australian Museum, report extends our knowledge beyond that Adelaide, Australia (SAM); and the National summary and is one of a series intended to Museum ofNatural History, Smithsonian In- document the diversity ofectoparasites, some stitution, Washington, D.C. (USNM). ofwhich possess unusual or unique morpho- Other abbreviations used in the descriptive logical traits, found on the array of murine portions of this work are as follows: host species that are endemic to the forests of Sulawesi. This and future papers will con- DAcHS Dorsal accessory head setae DAnHS Dorsal anterior head setae tain descriptions ofnew or poorly known spe- DCAS Dorsal central abdominal setae cies of ectoparasites that have recently been DMHS Dorsal marginal head setae removed from the skins (both dry and pre- DMsS Dorsal mesothoracic setae served in fluid) ofSulawesian rodents housed DPHS Dorsal principal head setae in major museum collections. DPoCHS Dorsal posterior central head setae More than 40 indigenous species of rats DPrS Dorsal paratergal setae and mice have been recorded from Sulawesi DPTS Dorsal principal thoracic setae and its offshore islands (Musser and Holden, DPtS Dorsal prothoracic setae 1991). It is important to document the di- OrS Oral setae versity of ectoparasites and their host asso- SHS Sutural head setae ciations. Results will form another set ofdata SpAtHS Supraantennal head setae StAS Sternal abdominal setae that may be significant for testing hypotheses TeAS Tergal abdominal setae ofzoogeographical relationships among hosts VPaHS Ventral preantennal head setae and their ectoparasites (Durden and Traub, VPHS Ventral principal head setae 1990). VPrS Ventral paratergal setae 1 992 DURDEN AND MUSSER: SUCKING LICE-SULAWESI RODENTS 3 Descriptive format and terminology follow G. Musser in March and April, 1975. Allo- Kim (1966), Kim and Ludwig (1978), and type female and one paratype female from Durden and Musser (1991). Drawings of en- the same host individual as holotype; three tire lice conventionally illustrate dorsal mor- paratype females ex male M. naso (AMNH phology to the left ofthe midline and ventral 225091) at 2255 m; one paratype male ex features to the right. Measurements were male M. naso (AMNH 225105) at 2285 m; made using a calibrated eyepiece micrometer one male ex female M. naso (AMNH 225106) inserted into a high-power phase contrast mi- at 2285 m. In addition, five immature lice croscope. Values of measurements and were removed from AMNH 225106. Allo- weights are reported in millimeters (mm) and type female: MZB. Paratypes: BMNH, LAD, grams (g). All rodent hosts discussed here USNM. (Melasmothrix naso, Eropeplus canus, Bun- DISTRIBUTION: Known by four collections omys chrysocomus, and Bunomysfratrorum) from Melasmothrix naso collected at 2225 are members ofthe subfamily Murinae, which and 2285 m (tropical upper montane rain Carleton and Musser (1984) place in the fam- forest) on or close to the summit of Gunung ily Muridae of Rodentia. Nokilalaki (2285 m), Central Sulawesi (Su- lawesi Tengah), Indonesia. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ETYMOLOGY: The species is named for the type host genus. We are grateful to Michael D. Carleton DIAGNOSIS: Polyplax melasmothrixi is dis- (USNM) and Paula D. Jenkins (BMNH) who tinctive. It is easily distinguished from all arranged for various murine study skins un- other of der their curation to be examined for ecto- species Polyplax by the unusual ap- parasites. Lance Durden's fieldwork in Su- pearance of the male genitalia and by the lawesi was funded by a grant from the setation of gonopods VIII and IX in the fe- Committee for Research and Exploration of male. The following combination of char- the National Geographic Society; he was acters also serves to distinguish this species: sponsored in Indonesia by the Lembaga Ilmu (1) DPHS, DAcHS, and DPoCHS all stout; Pengetahuan Indonesia (LIPI) and the Royal DPHS and DAcHS displaced posterolater- Entomological Society ofLondon. Guy Mus- ally; (2) the shape ofthe thoracic sternal plate; ser's field collections in Sulawesi were partly (3) the presence of some short stout setae, in supported by the Celebes Fund ofthe Amer- addition to longer stout setae, on the abdom- ican Museum as well as Archbold Expedi- inal tergites and sternites; (4) the shape ofthe tions, Inc.; his sponsorship in Indonesia came paratergal plates and the lengths of the setae from LIPI and MZB. He was also assisted by borne on these plates. members ofUnited States Navy Medical Re- DEScRIPTION: Male (fig. 1). Length of ho- search Unit No. 2 (NAMRU-2) in Jakarta. lotype 1.02 mm (mean for series 1.00; range Donna Moore Smith skillfully prepared the 0.96-1.03; N = 3). Head, thorax, and ab- drawings included in this paper. Drs. Richard domen well sclerotized. G. Robbins and Nixon Wilson critically re- Head. About as wide as long with blunt viewed an earlier draft of the manuscript. anterior apex; 2 DAnHS, 1 DMHS, 1 OrS, 1 SHS (2 present on 1 side of 1 specimen), 1 Polyplax melasmothrixi, new species SpAtHS, and 2 VPaHS on each side; DPHS relatively short and stout, extending about HOLOTYPE: Male collected by L. A. Durden halfdistance to thoracic spiracle, with 1 stout from pelt of adult male Melasmothrix naso DAcHS distal to DPHS on each side; both (AMNH 225100) collected by G. G. Musser DPHS and DAcHS displaced posteromargin- at 2255 m on Gunung Nokilalaki (1°16'S, ally; 1 stout peglike DPoCHS on each side; 12001 0'E), Central Sulawesi, Indonesia on 29 VPHS long and fairly stout.