Search

The small passerine family Neosittidae has never been checked under the presence of ectoparasitic mites of the family Syringophilidae (Acariformes: Prostigmata). Herein, we describe a new species, Aulobia sittellae n. sp., collected from the Varied Sittella Daphoenositta chrysoptera (Latham). In addition to the first record of the syringophilid mites on a host representative of the family Neosittidae, it is also the first record of the genus Aulobia in the Australian region. Additionally, a key to all described Aulobia species is constructed, and the genus distribution on the hosts is briefly discussed.

A new quill mite species of the family Syringophilidae and subfamily Picobiinae, Charadriineopicobia janegoodallae sp. nov., is described. It was collected from Wedge-rumped Storm-Petrel Hydrobates tethys (Bonaparte), a representative of the order Procellariiformes and family Hydrobatidae. Our finding is the first record of the subfamily Picobiinae on procellariform hosts and the first record of quill mites of the family Syringophilidae collected from birds inhabiting the Galápagos Islands. Additionally, an identification key to females of all known species of Charadriineopicobia is presented. Because all other species of the genus Charadriineopicobia were found on phylogenetically distant avian hosts of the order Charadriiformes and families Charadriidae, Scolopacidae, and Laridae, we hypothesize that presence of this new mite species parasitizing H. tethys is a result of the mite switching from charadriiform hosts inhabiting the same ecological niche.

In the paper, we presented ptyctimous mites collected from Nearctic (Canada, USA), Neotropical (Dominicana), Palaearctic (Scotland, Italy, Russia, Nepal, Egypt), Afrotropical (Ethiopia, Gabon, Congo, Mozambique, Madagascar, Réunion), South Africa, Oriental (Maldives, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, China) and Australasian (Papua New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand) regions. Information of Mesoplophora (Parplophora) flavida Niedbała, 1985 and M. (P.) polita Niedbała, 1985 phoretic on different insects (Coleoptera: Passalidae) are presented. A new species Atropacarus (Hoplophorella) additus Niedbała sp. nov., is described from Madagascar. Supplementary descriptions and some remarks of ten species from six genera are given (including two paratypes of previously synonymous species). Information on the distribution and location of 85 species of 18 genera is also presented. Fifty-three species were found for the first time in the zoogeographical region or given country.

In the paper, we present ptyctimous mite species collected from Norway, Spain, France, Italy, India, and South Korea. Two new species, Acrotritia quasiparadikra Niedbała sp. nov. from India and Phthiracarus paralentulus Niedbała sp. nov. from South Korea are described. In addition, we provide the supplementary descriptions of ten species belonging to six genera, i.e., Austrotritia dentata Aoki, 1980, Acrotritia furcata Bayoumi et Mahunka, 1979, A. koreensis (Mahunka, 1997), Microtritia minima (Berlese, 1904), Phthiracarus clemens Aoki, 1980, P. crenophilus Willmann, 1951, P. similis Niedbała, 1981, Steganacarus (Steganacarus) carusoi Bernini et Avanzati, 1989, S. (S.) doumandji Niedbała, 1986, and Austrophthiracarus maritimus (Pérez-Íñigo et Pérez-Íñigo, 1996). We also include information and comments on the distribution of investigated species.

Due to the biological uniqueness of the Galápagos Islands, ectoparasites of their avian fauna are relatively well-studied compared with other oceanic islands. However, in this study, quill mites (Acariformes: Prostigmata: Syringophilidae) were investigated for the first time in this archipelago. We investigated 7 species (out of 9) and 133 specimens of Darwin’s Finches of the genus Geospiza. Quill mite parasites were confirmed in two host species, Vampire Ground-Finch G. septentrionalis (Prevalence Index = 5%) and Small Ground-Finch G. fuliginosa (PI = 4%). Both hosts were infested by a new mite species, Aulonastus darwini sp. n., inhabiting the quills of their contour feathers. The host–parasite relationship is discussed.

Hoatzin, a unique species endemic to Neotropics, has puzzled avian systematists since it was described 244 years ago. Despite its enigmatic origin and unparalleled life cycle, behavior, and mode of life, its parasites only occasionally were investigated. In this study, a new species Calamicoptes hoazinus n. sp. (Laminosioptidae: Fainocoptinae) was described, based on females found in the quill-wall of the primary feather of the hoatzin Opisthocomus hoazin (Statius Muller) (Opisthocomiformes: Opisthocomidae). Following on this we also constructed the key to all known species of the genus Calamicoptes. Importantly, our finding represents the first record of the family Laminosioptidae from the opisthocomiform bird and the first record of this mite family in the Neotropical realm. Scarce records of parasite-host interactions in this group, missing molecular data, and the absence of any phylogenetic study allows only to speculate about evolutionary events leading to observed distribution on the extant Neornithian host tree. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:F312CDE8-FB1F-4509-85BC-900F534E5EA8 http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:F1EC0F86-BD68-4340-950E-1E1BB9734B09

The comparative study of ontogeny and morphological structures of quill mite infrapopulations of a newly described species Peristerophila hirundineus sp. nov. from Merops hirundineus (Coraciiformes: Meropidae), collected in Namibia, D.R. Congo, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania, shows evidence of female dimorphism in the genus Peristerophila Kethley, 1970. This proves that females of quill mite species referred to the genus Peristerophila are homeomorph forms, while those referred to the genus Castosyringophilus Bochkov and Perez, 2003 are heteromorph ones. Therefore, the genus Castosyringophilus syn. nov. is synonymized herein with the genus Peristerophila. The following new combinations for mite species formerly referred to Castosyringophilus are proposed: Peristerophila forpi (Bochkov and Perez, 2002) comb. nov., P. claravis (Skoracki and Glowska 2008) comb. nov., and P. meropis (Skoracki, Hromada and Sikora, 2017) comb. nov. The possible evolutionary sense of the female dimorphism in syringophilid mites is discussed.

Quill mite fauna of the genus Meitingsunes Glowska and Skoracki, 2010 associated with birds of the order Columbiformes is revised. Two new species are described: Meitingsunes ptilinopus sp. nov. fr...

A new syringophilid mite species, Stibarokris nielseni sp. nov., from Manx Shearwater Puffinus puffinus is described. This finding is the third record of quill mite species for Iceland and the first one outside Galliformes. The new species differs from all other species of this genus in the following characters: tarsal claws of legs III and IV are distinctly more massive and strongly curved in comparison to claws of legs I and II (vs. tarsal claws are similar in shape and size in other Stibarokris species); the hysteronotal teeth are replaced ventrally (vs. situated laterally). The distribution of the quill mites of the genus Stibarokris on birds strongly corresponds to avian lineages grouped in the recently established clade Feraequornithes comprising the orders Pelecaniformes, Suliformes, Ciconiiformes, and Procelariiformes. Of these orders, quill mites were not confirmed only on representatives of Sphenisciformes. Probable explanation could be their highly specialized way of life and/or insufficient sampling efforts. Additionally, considering the recent reconstructions of avian phylogeny, the presence of Stibarokris on flamingos (Phoenicopteriformes), which are distant from Feraequornithes, is most likely the result of successful host switching.

A new quill mite species, Syringophilopsis bochkovi sp. n. (Acariformes: Syringophilidae), is described from two species of manakins (Passeriformes: Pipridae), Corapipo altera (type host) and Manacus vitellinus collected in Panama. Females of the new species differ from those of morphologically similar S. nitens Skoracki et Dabert, 2001 by the following features: the total body length is 960–1,010 µm (vs. 1,265–1,285 µm in S. nitens); the dorsal shields (propodonotal, hysteronotal and pygidial) and coxal fields I–IV are apunctate (vs. all these sclerites are punctate); each lateral branch of the peritremes has 11 chambers (vs. 13 chambers); and the lengths of dorsal idiosomal setae d2 and e2 are 330–350 and 330–370 µm, respectively (vs. 390–400 and 420–460 µm). Syringophilopsis bochkovi represents the first record of the family Syringophilidae on passerines of the family Pipridae.

A new species of the family Rotundabaloghiidae (Parasitiformes: Uropodina) is described, based on mite material collected from Peru. Rotundabaloghia dillerae sp. nov. is morphologically sim...

Quill mites (Acariformes: Prostigmata: Syringophilidae) parasitizing waxbills of genus Estrilda Swainson (Aves: Passeriformes: Estrildidae) from the Sub-Saharan region are studied for the first time. Among them, a new species, Syringophiloidus estrildus sp. nov., is described and new host species for Neosyringophilopsis lonchurus Skoracki, 2008, Neoaulonastus oryzivorus (Skoracki, 2011) comb. nov., and Picobia lonchurae Skoracki et al., 2016 are recorded. In our study, we examined 120 specimens belonging to seven of the 16 (44%) species of the genus Estrilda. The prevalence of infestation by syringophilid species varied from 3.7 to 25%. The host and habitat (feather type) specificity are discussed.

A new species of quill mite of the family Syringophilidae (Acariformes: Prostigmata), Peristerophila nestoriae sp. nov. from New Zealand Kaka, Nestor meridionalis (Gmelin) (Psittaciformes: ...

The fauna of the quill mite genus Peristerophila Kethley, 1970 (Acariformes: Prostigmata: Syringophilidae) associated with pigeons and doves (Aves: Columbiformes) is reviewed. In our study, we examined 109 species of columbiform hosts of which 28 species belonging to nine genera were infested by Peristerophila mites. In the analyzed mite material, six species of this genus were found including two new species described herein: P. geopelis sp. nov. from Geopelia cuneata, G. placida, G. striata, as well as Ocyphaps lophotes and P. leucomela sp. nov. from Columba leucomela. Additionally, eighteen new host species and many new locality records for the previously described taxa are reported.

Three new species of the family Syringophilidae associated with birds of the pantropically distributed order Coraciiformes are described: two new species of the subfamily Picobiinae—Rafapicobia momoti sp. nov. ex the Rufous-capped Motmot Baryphthengus ruficapillus (Vieillot) (Momotidae) from Brazil, Rafapicobia brachypteraci sp. nov. ex the Rufous-headed Ground-Roller Atelornis crossleyi Sharpe (Brachypteraciidae) from Madagascar, and one new species of the subfamily Syringophilinae—Peristerophila coraciidus sp. nov. ex the Dollarbird Eurystomus orientalis (Linnaeus) (Coraciidae) from Papua New Guinea. Additionally, the Collared Kingfisher, Todiramphus chloris (Boddaert) (Alcedinidae), is recorded as a new host for Peristerophila meropis Skoracki et al., 2017. In all these host families, syringophilids are recorded for the first time. Moreover, our findings represent the first records of picobiines from coraciiform birds. Currently, the fauna of quill mites associated with coraciiforms includes six species grouped in the three genera: Rafapicobia Skoracki, 2011, Peristerophila Kethley, 1970, and Syringophilopsis Kethley, 1970. All these genera seem to be typically telluravian and have been also recorded from passeriform birds.

A new monotypic genus Tanopicobia gen. nov. is established for a new species Tanopicobia trachyphoni sp. nov., parasitizing Trachyphonus erythrocephalus Cabanis, 1878 (Piciformes: Lybiidae) from Tanzania. In phylogenetic analyses based on morphological data and constructed using the maximum parsimony approach, this taxon falls within the subfamily Picobiinae Johnston and Kethley, 1973 in the Neopicobia-species-group as closely related to the genus Pipicobia Glowska and Schmidt, 2014. Tanopicobia differs from Pipicobia by the following features in females: genital setae absent; setae ve are situated far and posteromedial to the level of setal bases vi; setae 3a are thick and knobbed. Additionally, a new generic key for subfamily Picobiinae is constructed and general host-parasite ecological and phylogenetic relationships are discussed. Picobiines are present in several lineages of neoavian birds, from basal Galloanseres to terminal Telluraves, which are infested by 70 (89.7% of all) species of these ectoparasites.

Two new quill mite species of the genus Psittaciphilus Fain, Bochkov & Mironov, 2000 (Acariformes: Prostigmata: Syringophilidae) collected from columbiform birds (Columbiformes) are described: Psittaciphilus montanus n. sp. form the ruddy quail-dove Geotrygon montana Gosse from Trinidad and Tobago, Brazil and Panama, and Psittaciphilus patagioenas n. sp. from the band-tailed pigeon Patagioenas fasciata (Say) from Colombia and the scaled pigeon Patagioenas speciosa (Gmelin) from Surinam. A key to the species of the genus Psittaciphilus is provided. Our finding is the first record of the representatives of this genus on columbiform birds.

Gunabopicobia Skoracki and Hromada, 2013, the only genus of the subfamily Picobiinae Johnston and Kethley, 1973, associated exclusively with birds of the order Columbiformes is reviewed. Five new s...

We investigated the quill mite fauna of the family Syringophilidae (Acariformes: Prostigmata) associated with Sunbirds (Passeriformes: Nectariniidae) in the Sub-Saharan region. Six hundred eleven host individuals belonging to 52 species were examined. Syringophilid parasitization prevalence (44 hosts of 15 species) ranged from 1.4 to 75% in particular host species. In the collected material, we have found seven quill mite species and among them four are new for science: 1) Aulobia afroanthreptes Skoracki & Zmudzinski sp. nov. from Anthreptes neglectus Neumann, 1922 and Anthreptes longuemarei (Lesson, 1831), both from Tanzania; 2) Syringophiloidus nectariniae Skoracki & Zmudzinski sp. nov. from Hedydipna collaris (Vieillot, 1819) from Tanzania; 3) Aulonastus nectariniphilus Skoracki & Zmudzinski sp. nov. from Anthreptes reichenowi Gunning, 1909 from Tanzania and Nectarinia tacazze (Stanley, 1814) from Ethiopia; and 4) Picobia hedydipna Skoracki & Zmudzinski sp. nov. from Hedydipna collaris from Kenya. Representatives of the genera Aulonastus Kethley, 1970 and Syringophiloidus Kethley, 1970 are recorded on Sunbirds for the first time. The following new host species are given: Cinnyris mariquensis Smith, 1836, C. shelleyi Alexander, 1899 and C. regius Reichenov, 1893, all from Tanzania for Aulobia nectariniae Skoracki & Glowska, 2008; A. neglectus and A. longuemarei, both from Tanzania for Neoaulonastus cinnyris Klimovicova et al., 2014; Cyanomitra verreauxii (Smith, 1832) from Tanzania and Cinnyris chalybeus (Linnaeus, 1766) from South Africa for Picobia oritis Skoracki et al., 2009. Additionally, host-parasite relationships are discussed.

The mite family Harpirhynchidae (Acariformes: Cheyletoidea) comprises 154 named species from 15 genera, all of which are permanent parasites of birds or snakes. We inferred the phylogeny of the family with maximum parsimony (MP) and Bayesian analyses for 67 ingroup and 3 outgroup species from the families Cheyletidae, Demodecidae, and Psorergatidae based on 177 morphological characters. The analyses revealed uncertainty of monophyly of the subfamily Harpirhynchinae. The subfamilies Harpypalpinae and Ophioptinae constitute a monophyletic group which is either sister to Demodecidae + Psorergatidae (supported by Bayesian analysis and by 59% of MP trees) or Harpirhynchinae (41% of MP trees). Harpirhynchids were shown to be highly host specific, with 69.5% being monoxenous species and 23% species are associated with several closely related hosts. Results of multinomial logistic regression showed that the microhabitat on the host and type of cysts produced by mites do not significantly influence at level of their host specificity. Ancestral host reconstruction shows that mites of the clade Harpypalpinae + Ophioptinae evolved to parasitism on Passeriformes independently from the Harpirhynchinae. Ancestor of ophioptines switched to an ancestor of colubroid snakes from passerines. In contrast, harpirhynchines colonized a common ancestor of neognathous birds. In the subfamily Harpirhynchinae, the ancestral microhabitat was probably the surface of the host's skin, with intracutaneous parasitism being a more derived lifestyle. According to reconstructed phylogenetic pattern, parasitism at the feather bases of passerine hosts arose independently in two genera (Neharpyrhynchus and Trichorhynchiella) from intracutaneous parasitism.

A new monotypic genus of parasitic mites is proposed for Ixobrychiphilus wallacei n. gen., n. sp. (Acariformes: Prostigmata: Syringophilidae) collected from Ixobrychus cinnamomeus (Gmelin) (Pelecaniformes: Ardeidae) from China. This new genus is morphologically similar to Niglarobia Kethley, 1970 but differs by the presence of a full complement of leg setae (vs. setae vsII absent in Niglarobia), propodonotal setae arranged 2-1-1-1-1 (vs. 2-1-1-2), and legs I thicker than II (vs. legs I and II equal in thickness).

A new quill mite species, Neoaulonastus sidorchukae sp. nov. (Acariformes: Syringophilidae), is described from under-tail covert feathers of Leptocoma zeylonica (Linnaeus) (Passeriformes: Nectariniidae) from Sri Lanka. It is the second record of syringophilid mites of the genus Neoaulonastus parasitizing sunbirds.

Quill mites of the family Syringophilidae (Acariformes: Prostigmata: Cheyletoidea) parasitizing cockatoos (Psittaciformes: Cacatuidae) are reviewed. Three new species are described: Neoaulobia cacatui sp. nov. from the Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo Calyptorhynchus funereus (type host) in Australia and the Palm Cockatoo Probosciger aterrimus in Papua New Guinea, Lawrencipicobia calyptorhyncha sp. nov. from the Glossy Black-cockatoo Calyptorhynchus lathami in Australia, and Lawrencipicobia sulphurea sp. nov. from the Yellow-crested cockatoo Cacatua sulphurea in Indonesia (West Timor).

Quill mites (Acariformes: Prostigmata: Syringophilidae) are a family of about 400 ectoparasite species known to infest birds for over 140 yr. All previously identified quill mites occur in the calamus, a cavity of the bird feather, where they spent their entire life except for a short dispersion period. In this study, we report the first record of quill mites dwelling in the quill walls during their entire life cycle. In short, we found all of the different life stages of the species Lawrencipicobia poicephali (Skoracki & Dabert 2002) (Acariformes: Syringophilidae) in the quill wall in 33 host individuals of six different host species from many different locations in Sub-Saharan Africa. Hosts were collected over a time period spanning more than 70 yr. Lastly, we report six new avian hosts for this ectoparasite species.

We report two host-specific lineages of scab mites of the genus Caparinia, parasitizing European and African hedgehogs. Based on morphology, these mite lineages are closely related sister groups. The morphological differences, however, are subtle and do not provide clear-cut evidence for the existence of separate species. CO1 divergence between these lineages was 7.4–7.8%, well above the CO1 barcoding gaps or thresholds commonly used to separate species, whereas divergence of five nuclear genes was very low, 0.06–0.53%, suggesting that these lineages could belong to a single species with gene flow between them. Thus, there is a conflict between the mitochondrial (CO1) gene and nuclear genes (i.e mito-nuclear discordance). We attribute this conflict to the ‘gray zone’ where species delimitation is ambiguous due to substantial gene flow. We also report another ‘gray zone’ species, Psoroptes ovis (a species of veterinary importance), whose within-species CO1 distances reached 6.0%. We provide a detailed morphological description and figures of C. ictonyctis stat. res. from the African hedgehog, using light and SEM microscopy and give morphometric data for this species and its sister species, Caparinia tripilis from Europe. For all known species of Caparinia, we document their host associations and give a key to species of the world based on results of our morphological and molecular analyses and a nearly exhaustive study of museum specimens.

The parasitic quill mites of the family Syringophilidae (Acariformes: Prostigmata) are recorded on ibises and spoonbills (Pelecaniformes: Threskiornithidae) for the first time. Four new species of the genus Stibarokris Kethley, 1970 are described: 1) S. theristicus Skoracki, Zmudzinski & Unsoeld sp. nov. ex Theristicus caudatus (Boddaert, 1783) from Brazil, 2) S. geronticus Skoracki, Zmudzinski & Unsoeld sp. nov. ex Geronticus calvus (Boddaert, 1783) from South Africa, 3) S. brevisetosus Skoracki & Zmudzinski sp. nov. ex Plegadis falcinellus (L., 1766) from Turkey, and 4) S. plataleus Skoracki & Zmudzinski sp. nov. ex Platalea leucorodia L., 1758 from Austria. Additionally, a key to all described species in the genus is presented, and hypothesis of the Gondwanan origin of syringophilids associated with ibises and spoonbills is briefly discussed.

A new species of parasitic quill mite, Syringophiloidus bucerotidus Skoracki et Sikora sp. nov. is described based on the mite material collected from contour feather quills of six hornbill species (Bucerotiformes: Bucerotidae): Horizocerus hartlaubi (Gould) [type host] and H. albocristatus (Cassin) from D.R. Congo, Tockus flavirostris (Ruppell) and T. fasciatus (Shaw) from Cameroon, T. deckeni (Cabanis) and Lophoceros pallidirostris (Hartlaub et Finsch) from Tanzania. This is a first record of the family Syringophilidae on birds of the order Bucerotiformes.http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:A4327B33-4AA5-49A2-90E1-98C6C36245E0

A new species, Stibarokris hydrobates sp. nov. is described from Hydrobates pelagicus (Linnaeus) (Procellariiformes: Hydrobatidae) from Malta. This species differs from other representatives of the genus Stibarokris Kethley, 1970 in the absence of the projection on the proximal end of the stylophore (vs. presence in all other species) and in the presence of the basal angles on tarsal claws I–IV (vs. absence). The following syringophilid species are recorded from new hosts of aquatic birds: Stibarokris phoeniconaias (Skoracki and OConnor, 2010) from Phoenicopterus chilensis Molina (Phoenicopteriformes: Phoenicopteridae) from South America, Stibarokris dastychi Glowska and Skoracki, 2011 from Phalacrocorax pygmeus Pallas (Suliformes: Phalacrocoracidae) from Greece, Procellariisyringophilus bulwerius Kethley, 1970 from Calonectris diomedea (Scopoli) (Procellariiformes: Procellariidae) from Spain and Ardenna pacifica (Gmelin) (Procellariidae) from Indonesia.

The quill mite fauna of the family Syringophilidae (Acari: Prostigmata: Cheyletoidea) associated with owls (Aves: Strigiformes) is reviewed. A new genus is proposed, Neobubophilus Skoracki & Unsoeld gen. nov. It differs from closely related Bubophilus (Bubophilus Philips and Norton, 1978) by the absence of leg setae vsII in the both sexes. In addition, four new species are described: (1) Neobubophilus cunicularius Skoracki & Unsoeld sp. nov. from Athene cunicularia (Molina, 1782) (Strigidae) from Paraguay; (2) Neobubophilus atheneus Skoracki & Unsoeld sp. nov. from Athene noctua (Scopoli, 1769) and Athene brama (Temminck, 1821) (Strigidae), both from India; (3) Bubophilus tytonus Skoracki & Unsoeld sp. nov. from Tyto alba affinis (Blyth, 1862) (Tytonidae) from Cameroon, and (4) Megasyringophilus dalmas Skoracki & Unsoeld sp. nov. from Megascops choliba (Vieillot, 1817) (Strigidae) from Venezuela. The following new host species are given: Bubo bubo (Linnaeus, 1758) (Strigidae) from Nepal for Bubophilus ascalaphus (Philips and Norton 1978) and Strix woodfordii (Smith, 1834) (Strigidae) from Tanzania for Bubophilus aluconis (aluconis Nattress and Skoracki 2009). A key for syringophilid genera and species associated with owls is constructed. The host–parasite relationships of syringophilid mites and owls are discussed.

Made available in DSpace on 2018-11-26T16:48:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2016-01-01 General Biology Department of the Russian Academy of Science Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) German Academic Exchange Service - DAAD Two new quill mite species collected from passerine birds in Brazil are described: Torotrogla synallaxis sp. nov. from Synallaxis spixi Sclater (Funariidae) and Syringophilopsis bonariensis sp. nov. from Molothrus bonariensis (Gmelin) (Icteridae). Additionally, three syringophilid species were recorded from new host species captured in Minas Gerais, Brazil: Syringophilopsis tyranni Bochkov and Galloway, 2004 from Satrapa icterophrys (Vieillot) (Tyrannidae); Syringophiloidus stawarczyki Skoracki, 2004 from Dacnis cayana (Linnaeus) (Thraupidae) and Syringophiloidus parapresentalis Skoracki, 2011 from Turdus rufiventris Vieillot (Turdidae). The syringophilid fauna presently recorded from Brazil is summarized. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:XXXX Adam Mickiewicz Univ, Dept Anim Morphol, Fac Biol, Poznan, Poland Russian Acad Sci, Zool Inst, St Petersburg, Russia Univ Estadual Paulista, Dept Zool, Rio Claro, Brazil Univ Sao Paulo, Museu Zool, Ipiranga, Brazil Univ Estadual Paulista, Dept Zool, Rio Claro, Brazil General Biology Department of the Russian Academy of Science: 01201351187 FAPESP: 2011/50145-0 FAPESP: 2011/11420-5 FAPESP: 2012/06951-4 German Academic Exchange Service - DAAD: A/12/05065

Two new species of quill mites of the subfamily Syringophilinae Lavoipierre (Acari: Prostigmata: Syringophilidae) are described from the Bushshrikes (Passeriformes: Malaconotidae) in the Afrotropical region: Neoaulonastus malaconotus n. sp. parasitizing Telophorus nigrifrons (Reichenow) (Malaconotidae) [type host] in Liberia and Kenya, Laniarius aethiopicus (Gmelin) in Somalia, Nilaus afer (Latham) in Kenya, and Syringophiloidus nkaii n. sp. from Nilaus afer in Kenya.