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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Systematic Entomology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #340643
Research Project: Plant Feeding Mite (Acari) Systematics

Location: Systematic Entomology Laboratory

Title: A new species of Proctophyllodes Robin, 1877 from the Scarlet Tanager Piranga olivacea (Gmelin) (Passeriformes: Cardinalidae) from North America

Author
item HERMANDES, F. - Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP)
item O'CONNOR, BARRY - University Of Michigan
item Bauchan, Gary
item Ochoa, Ronald - Ron

Submitted to: International Journal of Acarology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/5/2017
Publication Date: 10/5/2017
Citation: Hermandes, F.A., O'Connor, B.M., Bauchan, G.R., Ochoa, R. 2017. A new species of Proctophyllodes Robin, 1877 from the Scarlet Tanager Piranga olivacea (Gmelin) (Passeriformes: Cardinalidae) from North America. International Journal of Acarology. 51:2407-2416.

Interpretive Summary: Discovering a new North American feather mite species. Feather mites occur on many types of feathers of birds. Although normally harmless to their hosts, eventually these mites can be harmful to the birds as they can cause irritation that leads to depluming. We describe a new feather mite collected on Scarlet Tanager and Western Tanager birds. Based on microscopy studies using differential interference contrast (DIC) and low-temperature scanning electron microscopy (LT-SEM) it is new to science. These studies are important for the health and welfare of these special birds and are especially important to scientists, wildlife managers, and zookeepers.

Technical Abstract: A new species of the megadiverse feather mite genus Proctophyllodes Robin, P. pirangae, is described from the Scarlet Tanager, Piranga olivacea (Gmelin, 1789) and the Western Tanager, Piranga ludoviciana (Wilson, 1811) (Passeriformes: Cardinalidae) from North America.