Five new species of Rhinonyssidae (Mesostigmata) and one new species of Dermanyssus (Mesostigmata: Dermanyssidae) from birds of Alberta and Manitoba, Canada.

Abstract

Three major lineages of mites are parasitic in the nasal passages of birds, i.e., Rhinonyssidae (Mesostigmata), Ereynetidae (Prostigmata), Cytoditidae, and Turbinoptidae (Astigmata). The most diverse family of avian nasal mites is Rhinonyssidae, which include obligate hematophagous endoparasites of nonratite birds worldwide. Nasal mites have been surveyed extensively in the United States, yet there has never been a Canadian survey. There are only 4 published, and 3 unpublished, rhinonyssid species records from birds in Canada. While surveying the nasal mites associated with birds of Alberta and Manitoba (western Canada), 1 new species of Dermanyssus and 5 new species of Rhinonyssidae were recovered. Herein, I describe and illustrate Dermanyssus diphyes n. sp., Ptilonyssus calvaria n. sp., P. nivalis n. sp., P. pinicola n. sp., P. plesiotypicus n. sp., and Sternostoma setifer n. sp.