title: Diversity of Quill Mites of the Family Syringophilidae (Acari: Prostigmata) Parasitizing Owls (Aves: Strigiformes) With Remarks on the Host-Parasite Relationships.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Morphology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Umultowska 89, 60-614 Poznan, Poland skoracki@amu.edu.pl.
authors.forename: Maciej
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Skoracki
authors.affiliation: Ornithological Section, Bavarian State Collection of Zoology, Muenchhausenstrasse 21, 81247 Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Unsoeld
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Morphology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Umultowska 89, 60-614 Poznan, Poland.
authors.forename: Natalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Marciniak
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Morphology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Umultowska 89, 60-614 Poznan, Poland.
authors.forename: Bozena
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sikora
mesh_terms: D000349:Africa; D000818:Animals; D001208:Asia; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*; D005260:Female; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D008297:Male; D008924:Mite Infestations / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D008925:Mites / Q000145:classification* / Q000502:physiology*; D013020:South America; D020305:Strigiformes
keywords: Acari; Strigiforme; Syringophilidae; ectoparasite; quill mite