Antarctophthirus carlinii (Anoplura: Echinophthiriidae), a new species from the Weddell seal Leptonychotes weddelli

LEONARDI MARÍA SOLEDAD; POLJAK SEBASTIAN; CARLINI PEDRO; GALLIARI JUAN G.; BOBINAC MAGALÍ; MARQUEZ MARIA ELBA ISABEL; NEGRETE JAVIER

Conferencia; International Conference on Phthiraptera- ICP5.; 2014

As a part of an ongoing long term study on the biology of pack ice seals in Antarctica, we had the opportunity to collectlice from Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddelli). We did not found the original description of this host- parasite association. Antarctophthirus ogmorhini had previously been reported as a parasite for the Weddell seal, but the information is,to a certain extent, confusing.During the development ofthe present study, we had access to literature concerning thepresence of A. ogmorhini on this host, which, to our knowledge,was not determined in any of the previous works on this species. We compared lice collected from Weddell seals with A. ogmorhini obtained from the type host, the leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonix) and we found that both species can be distinguished. The main differences are the characteristic pattern of chaetotaxy in the dorsal side of the head in lice from Weddell seals, the size and form of the psudopenis and the distribution and size of the fringe of setae surrounding the genital opening.Considering the conservative morphology, and ecologicaland evolutionary features of sucking lice, we proposed that lice from Weddell seals constitute a new species, Antarctophthirus carlinii. In the present work, we described and illustrated adults and nymphal stages of this new species collected from Weddell seals during austral summer of 2014 at the DancoCoast, Antarctic Peninsula.