Apterygon okarito explained

Apterygon okarito is a species of louse belonging to the family Menoponidae.^[1]

Taxonomy

This species was described in 2004 by Ricardo Palma and Roger Price. The species name "okarito" refers to the type locality which is of the same name. The holotype is stored at Te Papa Museum under registration number AI.012588.^[2]

Description

Males of this species are identical to others in the Apterygon genus an can only reliably be separated by minor differences in genitalia. The females are also identical and can be separated by their chaetotaxy.

Distribution

As a consequence of its host species distribution, this species only occurs in Westland, New Zealand.

Host

The only known host species of this lice is the Okarito Kiwi. This host restriction has also been used as evidence of the Okario Kiwi being a distinct species.^[3]

Conservation status

Under the New Zealand Threat Classification System, this species is listed as Nationally Critical with the qualifiers of "Conservation Dependent", "Increasing" and "One Location".^[4]

External links

• Apterygon okarito discussed on RNZ Critter of the Week, 26 February 2021

Notes and References

1. Palma . Ricardo L. . Price . Roger D. . 2004 . Apterygon okarito, a new species of chewing louse (Insecta: Phthiraptera: Menoponidae) from the Okarito brown kiwi (Aves: Apterygiformes: Apterygidae) . New Zealand Journal of Zoology . en . 31 . 1 . 67–73 . 10.1080/03014223.2004.9518361 . 0301-4223.
2. Web site: Collections Online - Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa . 2024-07-21 . collections.tepapa.govt.nz.
3. Tennyson . Alan . Palma . Ricardo L. . Robertson . Hugh Alexander . Worthy . Trevor . Gill . Brian . 2003-01-01 . A New Species of Kiwi (Aves, Apterygiformes) from Okarito, New Zealand . Records of the Auckland Museum . 40 . 55–64.
4. Buckley . T. R. . Palma . R. L. . Johns . P. M. . Gleeson . D. M. . Heath . A. C.G. . Hitchmough . R. A. . Stringer . I. A.N. . 2012 . The conservation status of small or less well known groups of New Zealand terrestrial invertebrates . New Zealand Entomologist . en . 35 . 2 . 137–143 . 10.1080/00779962.2012.686319 . 0077-9962.