Diversity and host associations of Myrsidea chewing lice (Phthiraptera: Menoponidae) in the tropical rainforest of Malaysian Borneo.

ABSTRACT: The tropical rainforests of Sundaland are a global biodiversity hotspot increasingly threatened by human activities. While parasitic insects are an important component of the ecosystem, their diversity and parasite-host relations are poorly understood in the tropics. We investigated parasites of passerine birds, the chewing lice of the speciose genus MyrsideaWaterston, 1915 (Phthiraptera: Menoponidae) in a natural rainforest community of Malaysian Borneo. Based on morphology, we registered 10 species of lice from 14 bird species of six different host families. This indicated a high degree of host specificity and that the complexity of the system could be underestimated with the potential for cryptic lineages/species to be present. We tested the species boundaries by combining morpho

SUBMITTER: Madrid RS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7691129 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature