Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz On-line - Vol. 94(5) - Sep./Oct. 1999
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The Type Specimens of Sucking Lice (Anoplura) Deposited in the Entomological Collection of Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

Vol. 94(5): 625-628

Margareth Cardozo-de-Almeida/+, Pedro Marcos Linardi*, Jane Costa

Núcleo de Informatização, Coleção Entomológica, Departamento de Entomologia, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz,
Av. Brasil 4365, 21045-900 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil *Departamento de Parasitologia, ICB, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Caixa Postal 486, 30161-970 Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil

This study presents a list of 34 Anoplura type specimens deposited in the Werneck Collection of Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. It includes 18 holotypes, 16 allotypes, 88 paratypes and 10 neotypes, distributed among the genera: Enderleinellus, Fahrenholzia, Haematopinus, Hoplopleura, Linognathus, Microthoracius, Pecaroecus, Polyplax and Pterophthirus. The types are related according to their respective data and literature.

Key words: type specimens - Anoplura - sucking lice - Werneck Collection - Entomological Collection - Instituto Oswaldo Cruz - Brazil

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The Entomological Collection of the Instituto Oswaldo Cruz (IOC) includes approximately 1.2 million specimens, representing all the orders, being one of the most expressive of Latin America. It is constituted by a general collection and by the Herman Lent Collection of Hemiptera, which presents specimens of Reduviidae and mainly of sub-family Triatominae, the vectors of Chagas disease. It also includes other historical collections such as Adolpho Lutz, Cesar Pinto, Costa Lima, Henrique Aragão, Lauro Travassos, Otavio Mangabeira Filho, FL Werneck e JF Zikan. These historical collections were closed after the death of their dedicated researchers, being a rich historical and scientific holding that integrates specimens captured by the researchers themselves during the first expeditions undertaken in Brazil since 1900.

The historical Werneck Collection includes specimens of the orders Anoplura, Hemiptera, Mallophaga and Siphonaptera, deriving from captures undertaken by Werneck and other researchers, performed in 1911-1960, in Brazil and other countries, as well as by donations to IOC, provided by international and Brazilian institutions. In the Werneck Collection, there are 1,246 slides of Anoplura containing 120 species, from which 34 are type specimens and other 88 paratypes and 10 neotypes, summing 125 slides.

In attention to the determination 72D of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, which says that "every institution in which types are deposited should publish lists of type-material in its possession or custody", some surveys on the type species of various groups have been carried out in the entomological collections of IOC: triatomines (Gonçalves et al. 1994), culicides (Marchon-Silva et al. 1996) and specimens of superfamily Apoidea (Ferraz 1997). Intending update and disseminate the content of the Entomological Collection of IOC, the present study addresses the type specimens deposited in the Werneck Collection of this institution.

Anoplura are ectoparasitic insects, exclusively of mammals, presenting an obligatory hema-tophagy in nymphal and adult stages, commonly known as sucking lice. Their parasitological importance derives from the actions they exert on hosts as infesting agents (Nelson et al. 1977), or as vectors diseases: to human beings - louse-borne typhus (epidemic typhus), trench fever, relapsing fever, transmitted by Pediculus humanus (reviewed by Weidhaas & Gratz 1982) - or among rodents: murine typhus (endemic typhus), transmitted by species of Polyplax and Hoplopleura (Traub et al. 1978).

Given their parasitic specificity, Anoplura are of fundamental importance to studies on co-evolution with their respective hosts (Hopkins 1949, Vanzolini & Guimarães 1955, Kim 1988, Barker 1994). Until now, 33 species were recorded in Brazil, including 17 cosmopolitan (Durden & Musser 1994). Among Brazilian or neotropical species, eight were described by Werneck (1932a, b, 1933, 1937, 1942), four by Ferris (1916, 1921), two by Linardi et al. (1984a, b), one by Guimarães (1950) and another by Johnson (1972). According to the geographical distribution presented by Durden and Musser (1994), we might consider the possibility of other 10 species also occurring in Brazil.

The methodology applied here was the same used by Marchon-Silva et al. (1996). Besides the information about type specimens we added the name of the host on which the material was collected.

Family Enderleinellidae

Genus Enderleinellus Fahrenholz, 1912

brasiliensis Werneck, 1937. Enderleinellus. (118) Holotype 1 male (447). Allotype 1 female (448). Paratypes 2 females (449, 450); Sciurus aestuans; Abaeté, Pará, Brazil; 1936.

urosciuri Werneck, 1937. Enderleinellus. (766) Holotype 1 male (1312). Allotype 1 female (1313). Paratypes 4 females (1314 - 1317); Urosciurus igniventris; Acajutuba, Rio Negro, Amazonas, Brazil.

Family Haematopinidae

Genus Haematopinus Leach, 1815

acuticeps Ferris, 1933. Haematopinus. (696) Paratype 1 female (1184); Hippotigris burchelli; Mpwapwa, Tankanica Territory (=Tanzânia); 11-II-1931.

gorgonis Werneck, 1952. Haematopinus. (2911) Paratype 1 female (3618); Gorgon taurinus albojabatus; Ukerewe Peninsula, Tanganyika (=Tanzânia); GHE Hopkins coll., X-1944.

phacochoeri meinertzhageni Werneck, 1952. Haematopinus. (2780, 2781) Holotype 1 male (4064). Allotype 1 female (4065). Paratypes 1 female (3500) and 2 males (3501, 3502); Hylo-choerus meinerzthageni meinertzhageni; near Lukiri, Buhwezu Co., Ankole, Uganda; EU Hines coll., VI-1946. Synonym of Haematopinus meinertzhageni Werneck, 1952. Durden & Musser, 1994 : 16 (syn.).

Family Hoplopleuridae

Genus Hoplopleura Enderlein, 1904

affinis argentina Werneck, 1937. Hoplopleura. (831) Holotype 1 female (1653). Paratypes 2 females (1654, 1655); Reithrodon sp. (wild rat); Argentina; D Ponte coll. Synonym of Hoplopleura argentina Werneck, 1937. Ferris, 1951 : 133 (syn.).

brasiliensis Werneck, 1937. Hoplopleura. (23) Holotype and Allotype 1 female (186) and 1 male (186). Paratypes 3 females (187, 189, 190) and 3 males (190, 192, 193); (wild rat); Veadeiro, Goiás, Brazil.

capensis Werneck, 1954. Hoplopleura. (3334) Paratype 1 female (3917); Tatera sp.; Seepduik, Hay District, Cape Province, South Africa; South African Biol. Survey coll., 8-XII-1943.

disgrega chilensis Werneck, 1937. Hoplopleura. (957) Holotype 1 female (1951). Allotype 1 male (1952). Paratypes 4 females (1953 - 1956) and 3 males (1957 - 1959); Octodon degus (rat); Chile. Synonym of Hoplopleura chilensis Werneck, 1937. Ferris, 1951 : 134 (syn.).

fonsecai Werneck, 1933. Hoplopleura. (441) Holotype 1 female (916). Allotype 1 male (917). Paratypes 4 females (918 - 921) and 1 male (922); Oxymycterus judex (wild rat); Humboldt, Sta. Catarina, Brazil; W Etrhardt coll., 5-VII-1918.

malabarica Werneck, 1954. Hoplopleura. (3384) Paratypes 4 females (3918) and 1 male (3918); Bandicota malabarica; Colombo, Ceylão (=Sri Lanka); CD Radford coll., 28-VII-1944.

multilobata Werneck, 1954. Hoplopleura. (3295) Holotype 1 female (3893); Proechimys (Proe-chimys) iheringi; Santa Tereza, Espírito Santo, Brazil; 22-VI-1940.

travassosi Werneck, 1932. Hoplopleura. (452) Holotype 1 female (908). Allotype 1 male (909). Paratypes 2 females (906, 907); Oryzomys flavescens (wild rat); Humboldt, Sta. Catarina, Brazil; W Etrhardt coll., 1-VIII-1918.

Genus Pterophthirus Ewing, 1923

imitans Werneck, 1942. Pterophthirus. (1565) Holotype 1 male (2764). Allotype 1 female (2761). Paratypes 2 females (2762, 2763); Cavia aperea; Santo Amaro, São Paulo, Brazil; LR Guimarães coll., 6-I-37.

wernecki Guimarães, 1950. Pterophthirus. (2759) Paratypes 1 female (3446) and 1 male (3447); Proechimys iheringi iheringi; Boracéia, São Paulo, Brazil; LT Filho coll.

Family Linognathidae

Genus Linognathus Enderleinus, 1905

contractus Werneck, 1959. Linognathus. (3980) Paratypes 1 female (4026) and 2 females (flask 368, support 37); Ourebia ourebi; Reserva de caça da Cameia, Angola; AB Machado coll., 3-XII-1954.

fractus Ferris, 1932. Linognathus. (3964) Holotype 1 male (4066). Allotype 1 female (4067). Paratypes 4 females (4044 - 4047), 3 males (4048 - 4050) and genitalia of male (4051, 4052); Strepsiceros s. strepsiceros; Zululandia, South Africa; R. du Toit coll.

ourebiae Werneck, 1959. Linognathus. (3984) Paratypes of both sexs (flask 369, support 37); Ourebia ourebi; Reserva de caça da Cameia, Angola; AB Machado coll., 3-XII-1954.

raphiceri Fiedler & Stampa, 1956. Linognathus. (3992) Holotype 1 female (4068). Allotype 1 male (4069). Paratypes 2 females (4040, 4041) and 2 males (4042, 4043); Raphicerus campestris; Zululandia, África do Sul; R. du Toit coll.

taeniotrichus Werneck, 1937. Linognathus. (100) Holotype 1 female (421). Allotype 1 male (422). Paratypes 2 females (423, 424) and 1 male (425); Cerdocyon guaraxa (fox); São Bernardo das Russas, Ceará, Brazil; 1936.

vulpis Werneck, 1952. Linognathus. (2909) Holotype 1 male (3613). Allotype 1 female (3612); Vulpes rüppellii bengalensis (fox); Kurackee, Paquistão; FL Werneck coll.

Genus Solenopotes

hologastrus Werneck, 1937. Linognathus. (161) Holotype 1 female (634). Allotype 1 male (635). Paratypes 1 female (636) and 1 male (637); Gorgon taurinus; Grootfonteien, South West Africa; 19-VI-1933. Synonym of Solenopotes hologastrus Werneck, 1937. Durden & Musser, 1994 : 45 (syn.).

Family Microthoraciidae

Genus Microthoracius Fahrenholz,1916

cameli (Linnaeus, 1758). Microthoracius. (668) Neotypes 5 females (1122 - 1126) and 5 males (1127 - 1131); Camelus dromedarius (camel); Hassi Bahbah, Depart Alger, Algeria; A Lepigre coll., V-1934.

mazzai Werneck, 1932. Microthoracius. (50) Holotype 1 female (239). Allotype 1 male (240). Paratypes 8 females (241 - 248), 3 males (249 - 251), 5 nymphs (252 - 256), spermatheca (257); Auchenia llama; Sta. Catalina, Prov. Jujuy, Argentina; S Mazza coll.

minor Werneck, 1935. Microthoracius. (808) Holotype 1 female (1514). Allotype 1 male (1515); Lama pacos; Abra Pampa, Prov. de Jujuy, Argentina; S Mazza coll.

Family Pecaroecidae

Genus Pecaroecus Babcock & Ewing, 1938

javalli Babcock & Ewing, 1938. Pecaroecus. (2288) Paratypes (Cotypes) 1 female (2855) and 1 male (2856); (Peccary); Juno, Texas, Estados Unidos; OG Babcock coll., 29-I-1932.

Family Polyplacidae

Genus Fahrenholzia Kellogg & Ferris, 1915

schwartzi Werneck, 1952. Fahrenholzia. (2880) Holotype 1 male (3568). Allotype 1 female (3569). Paratypes 1 female (3571) and 1 male (3570); Heteromys anomalus anomalus; Sierra Maestra, Est. de Aragua, Venezuela; Amberson & Schwarz colls.

Genus Polyplax Enderlein, 1904

grammomydis Werneck, 1953. Polyplax. (2970) Paratypes 2 females (3684, 3685) and 2 males (3687, 3688); Grammomys dolichurus; Gowies Kloof, Albany, Prov. do Cabo, África do Sul; 2-II-1940.

Genus Galeophthirus

caviae Werneck, 1934. Eulinognathus. (629) Holotype 1 female (1141). Allotype 1 male (1145). Paratypes 3 females and 3 males (1142-1144, 1146-1148); Galea leucoblephara; Perico, Prov. Jujuy, Argentina; S Mazza coll., III-1934. Synonym of Galeophthirus caviae Werneck, 1934. In Ferris, 1951 (syn.).

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bul1.gif (879 bytes)  DISCUSSION

bul1.gif (879 bytes)  AKNOWLEDGMENTS

To Dr Rubens Pinto de Mello, for the revision of the manuscript and appropriate suggestions. To Ana Paula Rufino Amaro for the bibliographic survey and the maintenance of the Werneck Collection material. To Ronaldo Ribeiro and Veronica Marchon-Silva for storing the collection data.

bul1.gif (879 bytes)  REFERENCES

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*Research fellow CNPq.

+Corresponding author. Fax: +55-21-2909339. E-mail: margarethalmeida@hotmail.com  

Received 29 December 1998

Accepted 26 March 1999

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