CARRIKER ON MALLOPHAGA 



19 



M. extraneus 



M. extraneus 



9 



M. koreae 



9 



M. bruneri 



9 



length width length width length width length width 

 1.80 - 2.08 - 1.95 - 1.84 



Body 

 Head: 



frons 



temples 



occiput 

 Prothorax 

 Pterothorax 

 Abdomen 

 Basal plate 

 Parameres 

 Endomeral sac 



Type, 9 adult, from Melanerpes cruentatus extensus (Todd), collected by 

 the author at Puerto Venecia, Dept. Caqueta, Colombia, June 13, 1952. 

 Type in USNM. 



Diagnosis: This species is very close to the following two forms, as well 

 as to M. praecursor (Kellogg), and should be compared with the latter, but 

 the relationship between the four cannot be properly delineated because 

 praecursor and caquetae are known only from the female and quercus and 

 hoffmanni by the male. To further complicate matters, all four of these 

 species are parasitic on different species of the avian genus Melanerpes, and 

 undoubtedly they have many characters in common. 



M. quercus and M. hoffmanni are easily separated by the male genitalia, 

 but the genitalia are unknown in praecursor and caquetae. 



In relation to praecursor, the species caquetae has the frons slightly more 

 circular and the occipital margin less concave ; because of the poor condi- 

 tion of the specimens of praecursor studied, there is, as far as one can tell, 

 no appreciable difference in the chaetotaxy of any portion of the body. 

 There are, however, considerable differences in shape and size of all coxae 

 and femora and in the size and chaetotaxy of the last abdominal segment, 

 that of caquetae being larger and the posterior margin of last sternite much 

 wider. The pleurites are large and clearly visible in caquetae but apparently 

 are not separated from sternites by a hyaline area, while in praecursor they 

 are distinctly separated in segments VI-VIII. 



When better material of both sexes is available their true relationship can 

 be established; they may prove to be conspecific, but for the present I 

 prefer to classify them as distinct species. Represented by the 9 holotype 

 and 1 9 paratype, neither in the best condition. Measurements follow 

 M. quercus. 



