New records for chewing lice of the genus Dennyus Neumann, 1906 (Phthiraptera: Amblycera) on two swifts from Saudi Arabia

Very little is known about the chewing lice fauna of Saudi Arabia especially from swifts (Apodidae). Swifts are common resident and migratory birds throughout Saudi Arabia. Two chewing lice genera are known for parasitising swifts throughout the world:DennyusNeumann, 1906 andEureumNitzsch, 1818, none of which have been recorded from the Kingdom before.Two species of resident wild swifts were examined for chewing lice for the first time in Saudi Arabia. Two rare lice species were identified: D. (Dennyus) hirundinis (Linnaeus, 1761) andDennyussp. (Phthiraptera: Amblycera: Menoponidae) infesting the common swiftApus apus(Linnaeus, 1758) and African palm swiftCypsiurus parvus(Lichtenstein, 1823), respectively. The described chewing lice species are considered as new country records. They will be added to the Saudi Arabia parasitic fauna. Taxonomical and ecological remarks were provided for the identified chewing lice through this work, along with notes on swift/chewing lice interaction.