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

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.).

DISCUSSION
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.
REFERENCES

*Research fellow CNPq.
+Corresponding author.
Fax: +55-21-2909339. E-mail: margarethalmeida@hotmail.com
Received 29 December 1998
Accepted 26 March 1999