Browsing by Author "Durden, Lance A."
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Item High resolution images for 'Morphological and geographic definitions of the Sulawesian shrew rats Echiothrix leucura and E. centrosa (Muridae, Murinae), and description of a new species of sucking louse (Phthiraptera, Anoplura). (Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, no. 391)'(2014-08-11) Musser, Guy G.; Durden, Lance A.High resolution images for 'Morphological and geographic definitions of the Sulawesian shrew rats Echiothrix leucura and E. centrosa (Muridae, Murinae), and description of a new species of sucking louse (Phthiraptera, Anoplura).' (Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, no. 391) - http://hdl.handle.net/2246/6547Item Morphological and geographic definitions of the Sulawesian shrew rats Echiothrix leucura and E. centrosa (Muridae, Murinae), and description of a new species of sucking louse (Phthiraptera, Anoplura). (Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, no. 391)(American Museum of Natural History., 2014-07-25) Musser, Guy G.; Durden, Lance A.Among the 15 known genera of murine rodents endemic to the island of Sulawesi, is the shrew rat genus Echiothrix. Physically large (length of head and body = 182-235 mm; weight = 215-310 g) with a bicolored tail typically longer than head and body (100%-135% of head and body length), elongate hind feet (48-55 mm), large ears (31-35 mm), long and thin muzzle, spinous fur, and tiny molars relative to size of skull (length of molar row = 12%-13% of occipitonasal length), Echiothrix was named and described in 1867 and through the years has been treated as monotypic or containing up to three species. Results from analyses of morphometric traits derived primarily from cranial and dental measurements document the presence of two species. Echiothrix leucura (Gray, 1867) is restricted to the northern peninsular mainland east of the Gorontalo region (00°31ʹ N, 123° 03ʹ E). This distribution is concordant with that of four other murids endemic to the northeastern tip of the northern peninsula: Bunomys fratrorum, Taeromys taerae, Rattus xanthurus, and R. marmosurus. Echiothrix centrosa Miller and Hollister, 1921 (Echiothix brevicula Miller and Hollister, 1921, is a synonym), is documented by specimens from the northern peninsula west of the Gorontalo region and in the central portion of the island; 19 other murine species are also known only from the core of Sulawesi. Whether the range of E. centrosa extends to the eastern, southeastern, and southwestern peninsulas is at present unknown. Echiothrix leucura has a more elongate skull compared with E. centrosa (greater lengths of skull, rostrum, diastema, and bony palate), a wider interorbital region, larger braincase, narrower bony palate and mesopterygoid fossa, shorter incisive foramina, and appreciably larger molars; the two species also differ in frequencies of particular molar cusps and cusplets. Both species of Echiothrix are nocturnal, terrestrial, and occupy habitats in tropical lowland evergreen rain forest. Natural history observations made in the field for Echiothrix centrosa show it to be primarily vermivorous; other natural history observations derived from field work in central Sulawesi are provided. One aspect of that natural history is the ectoparasitic load borne by E. centrosa. This shrew rat is host to at least four species of ticks (Haemaphysalis kadarsani, Haemaphysalis hystricis, Haemaphysalis sp. and Amblyomma sp.), a tiny fur mite (Listrophoroides echiothrix), mesostigmatid mites belonging to the genus Laelaps, currently undetermined chiggers, a flea (Farhangia quattuordecimdentata), and a new species of sucking louse described herein as Polyplax beaucournui. This louse has tibiotarsal claws adapted for grasping slender soft hairs in the pelage and not the wide host spines; female lice also attach their eggs only to these slender hairs. The closest relative of Echiothrix is probably Paucidentomys vermidax, another Sulawesian endemic shrew rat that is also vermivorous but lacks molars and has been collected only in montane forests. The present report documents morphological and distributional limits of species in Echiothrix, places one of those species in an ecological and parasitological landscape, and generally contributes to knowledge covering endemic murid species diversity and identifying unique zoogeographical areas on Sulawesi.Item A new species of sucking louse (Insecta, Anoplura) from a montane forest rat in central Sulawesi, and a preliminary interpretation of the sucking louse fauna of Sulawesi. American Museum novitates ; no. 3008(New York, N.Y. : American Museum of Natural History, 1991) Durden, Lance A.; Musser, Guy G.Item Sucking lice (Insecta, Anoplura) from indigenous Sulawesi rodents : a new species of Polyplax from a montane shrew rat, and new information about Polyplax wallacei and P. eropepli. American Museum novitates ; no. 3052(New York, N.Y. : American Museum of Natural History, 1992) Durden, Lance A.; Musser, Guy G."Polyplax melasmothrixi, a new species of polyplacid sucking louse, is described from Melasmothrix naso, a small-bodied shrew rat known only from tropical upper montane rain forest in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. The male of Polyplax wallacei is described from specimens collected from Bunomys chrysocomus trapped in tropical lowland evergreen rain forest in Central Sulawesi. A further specimen of Polyplax eropepli, a taxon previously known only from the type series, is documented from Eropeplus canus from tropical upper montane rain forest also in Central Sulawesi. Host and habitat associations for these three species of sucking lice are discussed. Polyplax melasmothrixi and P. eropepli are both known only from montane habitats in Central Sulawesi and both appear to be host specific (to M. naso and E. canus, respectively). Contrastingly, P. wallacei parasitizes two species of Bunomys in lowland forests and is known from North and Central Sulawesi"--P. [1].Item The sucking lice (Insecta, Anoplura) of the world : a taxonomic checklist with records of mammalian hosts and geographical distributions. Bulletin of the AMNH ; no. 218([New York] : American Museum of Natural History, 1994) Durden, Lance A.; Musser, Guy G."A taxonomic listing of 532 species (plus six nomina nuda) of sucking lice (Insecta, Anoplura) described through January 1993 is presented. Listings are arranged alphabetically according to family and genus. For each louse species, the following information is given: 1) author, date, and literature citation for the original description; 2) synonymies, if any; 3) type host mammal species and its taxonomic affiliation; 4) principal host mammal species and their taxonomic affiliations; 5) type locality; 6) known geographical distribution of the louse species; 7) notes pertaining to other key taxonomic, host, or geographical data for the louse species. Two taxonomic changes are made in the checklist as follows: 1) Linognathus setosus bhatii Dutta, 1988, is elevated to species rank as Linognathus bhatii Dutta, 1988; 2) Neohaematopinus baibacinae Blagoveshtchensky, 1965, is reassigned as Linognathoides baibacinae (Blagoveshtchensky, 1965)"--P. 4.Item Sulawesi rodents : description of a new genus and species of Murinae (Muridae, Rodentia) and its parasitic new species of sucking louse (Insecta, Anoplura). American Museum novitates ; no. 3368(New York, NY : American Museum of Natural History, 2002) Musser, Guy G.; Durden, Lance A.The murine rodent, Sommeromys macrorhinos, new genus and species, is described from a single specimen collected at 2400 m near the summit of Gunung Tokala in central Sulawesi. The species is insectivorous and a member of the tropical upper montane rain forest fauna of the island. With its small body, elongate rostrum, long and slender hind feet, very long tail, and brownish gray fur, S. macrorhinos superficially resembles the long-tailed and small-bodied shrew rat, Tateomys macrocercus, another Sulawesian upper montane forest endemic. Sommeromys macrorhinos, however, possesses a combination of derived external, cranial, and dental traits, along with a unique rostral shape, that dissassociates it from any relationship with not only T. macrocercus and its close allies T. rhinogradoides and Melasmothrix naso, but with also the large-bodied shrew rats of Sulawesi (Echiothrix) and those indigenous to the Philippines (Archboldomys, Rhyncomys, Chrotomys, and Celaenomys) and New Guinea (Neohydromys, Pseudohydromys, Microhydromys, and Mayermys). The rostral configuration of Sommeromys is unlike the architecture found in any other of the more than 1300 species in the entire Muridae. The new species has a derived cephalic arterial circulation, a pattern otherwise found only in Crunomys celebensis among Sulawesian murines. That species, although usually regarded as a shrew rat, also does not possess any of the external and cranial specializations defining the species of Melasmothrix, Tateomys, and Echiothrix. Crunomys and Sommeromys share a similar conformation of the zygomatic plate that is not found in any other Sulawesian murine, but this is a shared primitive feature. Whether the shared cephalic arterial circulation indicates a closer relationship between Crunomys celebensis and Sommeromys macrorhinos than to any other native Sulawesi species, despite the striking contrast between the two in body form and a combination of cranial and dental traits, or independent derivation in each species will have to be determined by phylogenetic analysis of all the Sulawesi species as well as pertinent samples from the Sunda Shelf and Indochina. A new species of sucking louse, Hoplopleura sommeri (Insecta, Anoplura, Hoplopleuridae), is also described from the new murine. A brief discussion on related species of Hoplopleura is included with emphasis on those species parasitizing hosts in the subfamily Murinae of family Muridae.Item Systematic review of endemic Sulawesi squirrels (Rodentia, Sciuridae), with descriptions of new species of associated sucking lice (Insecta, Anoplura), and phylogenetic and zoogeographic assessments of sciurid lice. (Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, no. 339)(American Museum of Natural History., 2010) Musser, Guy G.; Durden, Lance A.; Holden Musser, Mary Ellen.; Light, Jessica E.Analyses of fur color patterns, morphometric data derived from external, cranial, and dental dimensions, and distributions of collection sites for voucher specimens form the basis for a taxonomic revision of Sulawesi’s endemic squirrel fauna. Eight species of tree squirrels in Rubrisciurus and Prosciurillus and two species of ground squirrels in Hyosciurus are recognized. All are diurnal and inhabit primary forest formations. Diet consists of fruit, nuts, seeds, and arthropods. Rubrisciurus rubriventer, the largest in body size, forages on the ground and in the lower canopy layer, is found throughout Sulawesi where primary forest persists, and occurs through an altitudinal range embracing tropical lowland evergreen and lower montane rain forests; it is absent from upper montane rain forest. Five species of arboreal squirrels comprise the Prosciurillus leucomus group, a cluster of species occupying the upper forest canopy: P. leucomus, known only from lowland and montane habitats in the northern peninsula and one offshore island; P. alstoni, recorded from lowland tropical evergreen rain forest in the eastern section of Sulawesi’s central core, the east-central and southeastern arms, and two southeastern islands; P. weberi, represented by a few specimens from the coastal lowlands of the southern core of Sulawesi; P. topapuensis, endemic to the western mountain block in Sulawesi’s central core and occurring along an altitudinal gradient from lowland evergreen rain forest to upper montane rain forest; and P. rosenbergii, the only species of squirrel collected on islands in the Sangihe Archipelago north of the northeastern tip of the northern peninsula. The Prosciurillus murinus group contains two species of small body size: P. murinus, found throughout Sulawesi and in all forest formations, from the coastal lowlands to mountaintops, and a forager in the lower canopy layers; and P. abstrusus, known only from montane forest habitats on Pegunungan Mekongga in the southeastern peninsula. Of two species of ground squirrels, Hyosciurus heinrichi occupies montane forest habitats in the western mountain block of Sulawesi’s central core. It is altitudinally parapatric to H. ileile, which inhabits lowland evergreen and lower montane rain forests in the western mountain block and northeastern lowlands of central Sulawesi, and montane forest on the northern peninsula. A slightly revised classification of Sciuridae is provided in which a new tribe, Exilisciurini, is proposed for the Bornean and Philippine Exilisciurus. Previously published results of morphological and molecular analyses point to Rubrisciurus, Prosciurillus, and Hyosciurus as a monophyletic cluster, the Hyosciurina, nested within a larger clade, the Nannosciurini, which along with Exilisciurini n. tribe and Funambulini, comprise the Nannosciurinae, one of the three subfamilies constituting Sciuridae, and one that contains most of the Indomalayan genera. The present diversity of species endemic to Sulawesi was derived from an ancient lineage that crossed a sea barrier from the Sunda Shelf to Sulawesi during the late Miocene. Eight new species of hoplopleurid sucking lice (Insecta, Anoplura) are described as parasitizing 8 of the 10 species of squirrels endemic to Sulawesi: Hoplopleura rubrisciuri from Rubrisciurus rubriventer, Hoplopleura leucomus from Prosciurillus leucomus, Hoplopleura alstoni from Prosciurillus alstoni, Hoplopleura topapuensis from Prosciurillus topapuensis, Hoplopleura murinus from Prosciurillus murinus, Hoplopleura abstrusus from Prosciurillus abstrusus, Hoplopleura heinrichi from Hyosciurus heinrichi, and Hoplopleura ileile from Hyosciurus ileile. Examples of Prosciurillus weberi and P. rosenbergii were surveyed but no lice were recovered. A phylogenetic analysis based on cladistic principles for six species of Sulawesian squirrel lice for which both sexes were available is presented and the results discussed with respect to host relationships. These new data are incorporated into a discussion covering zoogeography of global sciurid-sucking louse associations, emphasizing the Indomalayan squirrel fauna. Globally, members of 11 genera of Anoplura parasitize sciurids, a figure far exceeding the number of anopluran genera associated with any other mammalian family. Nine of these (the enderleinellids, Atopophthirus, Enderleinellus, Microphthirus, Phthirunculus, and Werneckia; the hoplopleurid, Paradoxophthirus; and the polyplacids, Johnsonpthirus, Linognathoides, and Neohaematopinus) are primary parasites of sciurids. The remaining two (the hoplopleurid Hoplopleura, and the polyplacid Polyplax) include representatives that are acquired (secondary) parasites of sciurids--the majority of species in these two louse genera parasitize other groups of mammals but a small number of species have transferred to squirrel hosts. Sciurid hosts and geographic distributions of these 11 anopluran genera are discussed. Historically, representatives of Hoplopleura colonized different sciurid hosts on several separate occasions with one known species on a North American tree squirrel (Sciurus), two described species on North American flying squirrels (Glaucomys), two species parasitizing North American species of chipmunks (Tamias and Eutamias), 14 described species from Indomalayan nannosciurine squirrels (Callosciurus, Tamiops, Rubrisciurus, Prosciurillus, Hyosciurus, and Funambulus), and one species parasitizing a Chinese xerine ground squirrel (Sciurotamias). The zoogeography of the seven sciurid-infesting louse genera known from Southeast Asia is discussed using data from nine different countries or regions (China, Taiwan, Thailand, peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, the Philippines, and Sulawesi). A reduction in the number of sciuirid-infesting anopluran genera and species is apparent from mainland northern/western regions to insular southern/eastern regions with members of seven genera and 23 species described from China but only one genus and eight species from Sulawesi. The absence of known species of Hoplopleura from Bornean and Javanese squirrels suggests that such a fauna may await discovery on one or both of these islands. Six of the eight species of Hoplopleura found parasitizing species of endemic Sulawesi squirrels were recovered as a monophyletic clade from a phylogenetic analysis employing anatomical structures associated with male and female lice. (Two species of Sulawesi Hoplopleura are based on females and nymphs only and were not incorporated into the analysis.) The monophyletic cluster formed by the Sulawesian squirrel lice joined with the monophyletic assemblage containing the three Sulawesi squirrel genera--Rubrisciurus, Prosciurillus, and Hyosciurus--suggest that the ancestral squirrel lineage that arrived in Sulawesi during the late Miocene may have been carrying its unique Hoplopleura parasite.