New taxa of quill mites (Acariformes: Syringophilidae) parasitising aquatic birds of the Faroe Islands

Syst Parasitol (2024) 101:56 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11230-024-10182-z New taxa of quill mites (Acariformes: Syringophilidae) parasitising aquatic birds of the Faroe Islands Maciej Skoracki · Simon Haarder Received: 7 May 2024 / Accepted: 7 August 2024 © The Author(s) 2024 Abstract The paper presents descriptions of new taxa and new records of quill mites of the family Syringophilidae Lavoipierre, 1953 (Acari: Prostigmata: Cheyletoidea) parasitising aquatic birds in the Faroe Islands, Denmark. Sulisyringophilus jenskjeldi n. gen., n. sp., is described from the northern gannet, Morus bassanus (Linnaeus) (Suliformes: Sulidae). The new genus, Sulisyringophilus, is new genus differs from the morphologically similar genus Procellariisyringophilus Schmidt and Skoracki, 2007 by the presence of lateral hypostomal teeth and leg setae vsII in females, the features which are absent in the latter. A new species Charadriphilus lymnocryptes n. sp. is described from the jack snipe, Lymnocryptes minimus (Brünnich) (Charadriiformes: Scolopacidae). Additionally, two rarely recorded species, Niglarobia ereuneti Kethley, 1970, and Creagonycha lara Kethley, 1970, are reported from two charadriiform hosts: the semipalmated sandpiper, Calidris pusilla (Linnaeus) and the black-legged kittiwake, Rissa tridactyla (Linnaeus), respectively. M. Skoracki (*) Department of Animal Morphology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, 61‑614 Poznań, Poland e-mail: S. Haarder Ornebjergvej 43, 4760 Vordingborg, Denmark Introduction Research on parasites associated with vertebrate hosts on islands and archipelagos is of particular interest, as it plays a crucial role in understanding parasitic behavior and ecosystem development in relatively isolated conditions.Among the specialised parasites associated with birds, the quill mites of the family Syringophilidae (Acariformes: Prostigmata: Cheyletoidea) are distinguished by their high morphological specialisation. These mites inhabit exclusively the internal cavities of feather quills, carrying out their entire lifecycle within this unique microhabitat, including feeding and reproduction. The family Syringophilidae represents the most taxonomically diverse group among quill-inhabiting mites, occupying a wide range of habitats in the plumage of their hosts (Kethley, 1970; Skoracki, 2011). Despite their diversity, the taxonomic system of syringophilid mites remains unsatisfactorily developed. Currently, the family comprises approximately 400 described species, and its representatives have been recorded from hosts representing 27 bird orders (Zmudzinski et al., 2023). The Faroe Islands, an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean, consist of 18 volcanic islands. Their unique geological features and geographical location make them a significant habitat for a wide array of seabirds and waders, which either breed on or regularly visit the islands. A comprehensive survey has documented a total of 355 bird species on the Faroe Vol.: (0123456789) 56 Page 2 of 13 Islands, including subspecies and introduced species (Olofson & Sørensen, 2022). Of these, approximately 150 species are aquatic birds belonging to the orders Anseriformes, Charadriiformes, Gruiformes, Procellariiformes, and Suliformes (Jensen & Sørensen, 2015). Notably, Syringophilidae mites have never been studied in this region before, marking this investigation as particularly pioneering. Consequently, this paper introduces the initial study on syringophilid mites of birds from the Faroe Islands, with a special focus on aquatic birds. The syringophilid mites parasitising this host group comprise approximately 30 species grouped in 16 genera of the subfamily Syringophilinae and three species in two genera of the subfamily Picobiinae (Kethley, 1970; Skoracki, 2011; Glowska & Skoracki, 2011; Glowska, 2015; Skoracki & Zawierucha, 2016; Skoracki et al., 2006, 2016, 2017, 2022; Zmudzinski & Skoracki, 2017; Zmudzinski et al., 2016, 2018). These mite genera have been recorded on birds representing seven orders: Syst Parasitol (2024) 101:56 Anseriformes, Charadriiformes, Gruiformes, Phoenicopteriformes, Procellariiformes, Suliformes, and Pelecaniformes. In this paper, we present results of our study of syringophilid mites, based on 75 specimens of 31 species of aquatic birds from the Faroe Islands. We establish a new genus, Sulisyringophilus n. g., based on a newly described species, Sulisyringophilus jenskjeldi n. sp., from the northern gannet, Morus bassanus (Linnaeus) (Suliformes: Sulidae). Furthermore, we describe a new speciesCharadriiphilus lymnocryptes n. sp., from the jack snipe, Lymnocryptes minimus (Brünnich) (Charadriiformes: Scolopacidae). In this study, we also added the new host records for two previously described quill mite species from charadriiform hosts: the semipalmated sandpiper Calidris pusilla (Linnaeus) (Scolopacidae) for Niglarobia ereuneti Kethley, 1970 and the blacklegged kittiwake Rissa tridactyla (Linnaeus) (Laridae) for Creagonycha lara Kethley, 1970 (Figs. 1, 2). Fig. 1  Host species infested by quill mites: A, Morus bassanus; B, Lymnocryptes minimus; C, Calidris pusilla; D, Rissa tridactyla. Photos by Jens-Kjeld Jensen (A, C, D), and Ingvar A. Sigurðsson (B). Vol:. (1234567890) Syst Parasitol Page 3 of 13 (2024) 101:56 56 Fig. 2  Examples of infested feather quills of Lymnocryptes minimus (left), Morus bassanus (right). Photo by Simon Haarder. Materials and methods The birds were collected by Jens-Kjeld Jensen (Nólsoy, Faroe Islands, Denmark) over the period from 1996 to 2024 and were preserved in his private freezer until examination. Their causes of death varied, including natural causes, traffic accidents, predation by feral cats, or hunting. For each bird studied, the majority of the flight, tail, and covert feathers were meticulously removed and examined for the presence of quill mites. Additionally, 10–20 contour feathers from the chest and ventral areas were carefully extracted and analysed. An overview of examined bird species is presented in Table 1. Mites found in infested feathers were meticulously removed using fine-pointed tweezers. These specimens underwent a clearing and softening process by being immersed in Nesbitt’s solution at ambient temperature for 24 to 36 hours (Skoracki, 2011). Subsequently, mites were transferred to 70% ethanol for a brief period of approximately 10 minutes and then mounted on microscopic slides using Hoyer’s medium, following the established protocol by Krantz and Walter (2009). The mite specimens were examined using a ZEISS Axioscope light microscope equipped with differential interference contrast (DIC) optics. Illustrations were made using a camera lucida attachment. All measurements are given in micrometres, with the dimension ranges of paratypes presented in parentheses, following the measurements of the holotype. The idiosomal setation nomenclature aligns with Grandjean’s (1939) system as modified for Pr (...truncated)