Description of two new species of Ectinorus (Ectinorus) (Siphonaptera, Rhopalopsyllidae) from Argentina, including a morphometric approach

LÓPEZ BERRIZBEITIA, M. FERNANDA; PÉREZ, M. JULIETA; BARQUEZ, RUBÉN M.

ACTA TROPICA

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Año: 2020 vol. 211

0001-706X

rodents (Rodentia: Cricetidae) collected during a survey of small mammals in northwestern Argentina.The newspecies belong to the subgenus Ectinorus and can be distinguished from all other species of the subgenus by thecharacteristics of the modified abdominal segments and by the genitalia. Moreover, the male of Ectinorus(Ectinorus) disjugis is described for the first time and the finding of this flea parasitizing the rodent Akodonspegazzinii, constitutes a new flea?host association. A phylogenetic analysis of the genus Ectinorus, using tradi-tional morphological characters and morphogeometric data, is presented to support the erection of the newspecies of Ectinorus. An identification key for all species of Ectinorus is also provided. Our study increases to 38the total number of species of the subgenus Ectinorus, and to 20 the number for Argentina. Phylogenetic analysesreveal that Ectinorus is monophyletic but the subgenera are not. This study offers a new interpretation ofmorphological diversity within the genus as well as an evaluation of hypotheses about their relationships.