Revision of the chewing louse genus Eutrichophilus (Phthiraptera: Trichodectidae) from the New World porcupines (Rodentia: Erethizontidae)

Abstract

A systematic revision of the chewing louse genus Eutrichophilus Mjoberg was undertaken to delineate the species present and clarify their hosts and distributions. This genus has been particularly problematic in that, in some cases, two or three species have been described from the same host taxon. Furthermore, the critical type material is widely scattered in collections (some was even destroyed during World War II), and the host porcupines have not been revised. We now recognize 18 species of Eutrichophilus, all restricted to the mammalian family Erethizontidae, the New World porcupines. We redescribe the 12 previously described species that we recognize herein and describe 6 species of Eutrichophilus new to science. A key is provided for the identification of all recognized species. We found four of the older species names (E. cercolabes Mjoberg, E. minor Mjoberg, E. cordiceps Mjoberg, and E. lobatus Ewing) to represent complexes of species, thereby accounting for the six new species: (1) the cercolabes group consists of E. cercolabes, E. andersoni, n. sp., E. australis Ewing, E. duellmani, n. sp., and E. maximus Bedford; (2) the minor group consists of E. minor, E. emersoni, n. sp., and E. claytoni, n. sp.; (3) the cordiceps group consists of E. cordiceps and E. paraguayensis, n. sp.; and (4) the lobatus group consists of E. lobatus and E. hershkovitzi, n. sp. Lectotypes are designated for E. cercolabes, E. minor, and E. cordiceps. Identities for all host species are evaluated and corrected where necessary