Lost companions: a new quill mite species and its possible coextinction with the Carolina parakeet

Abstract

Investigations of the parasites associated with extinct avian species provide unique insights into the ecology and evolution of both hosts and their parasitic counterparts. In the present paper, a new quill mite species, Peristerophila conuropsis sp. n., belonging to the family Syringophilidae (Prostigmata: Cheyletoidea) is described from the Carolina parakeet Conuropsis carolinensis Linnaeus (Psittaciformes: Psittacidae). This new species was collected from museum dry skin of the Carolina parakeet, the only native representative of the Psittacidae in the United States, which was an abundant resident of the southeastern and midwestern states and has been extinct in the beginning of the 20th century. Comment on the current taxonomic state and host associations of the genus Peristerophila are provided. Based on the host associations and habitats occupied by Peristerophila and related genera on parrots, it is hypothesized with the high probability that P. conuropsis has been extinct along with its host.