A new flea, Ectinorus (Ectinorus) insignis n. sp. (Siphonaptera, Rhopalopsyllidae, Parapsyllinae), with notes on the subgenus Ectinorus in Chile and comments on unciform sclerotization in the superfamily Malacopsylloidea

A list is provided for the species of Ectinorus sensu stricto from Chile. Ectinorus (Ectinorus) insignis n. sp. is described from Chile: this species is characterized by the male genitalia. In the subgenus Ectinorus, the authors report the presence in Chile of E. pilosus Beaucournu & Carmen Castro, 2002 described from Argentina and E. simonsi (Rothschild, 1904) described from Bolivia but also known from Peru. A female neallotype is designated for E. ineptus Johnson, 1957. “Unciform sclerotization” is noted and illustrated for the first time, in all Malacopsylloidea, and a list is given for all studied species.


Introduction
The interest of the genus Ectinorus (and the related genera Delostichus, Tetrapsyllus, etc.), regardless of its morphological features, is that it is one of the bubonic plague vectors, transmitting Yersinia pestis in Chile-Andean subregion (e.g., Macchiavello, 1948) [28]. Admittedly, the importance of plague in the southern cone of South America is of lesser importance than in the Old World (Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China, Vietnam, Republic of Congo, Tanzania, Madagascar), but the potential for disease remains and a knowledge of endemic fleas is important.

Ectinorus (Ectinorus) simonsi
One male found in Chile, Chusmiza (19°40 0 S-69°1 0 0 W), altitude 3430 m (Tarapaca), on Octodontomys gliroides, X/15/2011 (D. Gonzàlez-Acuña rec.). Identification is obvious for this species (apex of aedeagus, sternum VIII) but in this area on October 9, 1989, we found on the same host, at 2500 m altitude, three male intergrades between simonsi and nomisis Smit, 1987. These taxa are so close that it is likely that E. nomisis is a subspecies of E. simonsi. So we have two pairs, each in syntopy on the same individual host and a sole female: therefore, the identity of the female drawn in 1991 is confirmed. Currently males, in Chile, have been collected from two locations close to each other.

Description of females
Material examined: two males and three females, as indicated above.
Material deposited: Neallotype in the collection of first author (Collection JCB currently in Faculty of Medicine, Rennes), for ultimate deposition in Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France (MNHN).
Head capsule: With well-developed tubercle, without micro-seta visible in the vallum. Genal margin slightly convex; maxillary palpus with segments I, II and IV of same length; segment III shorter; labial palpus with seven segments, not reaching apex of coxa; pre-antennal seta very small; six marginal setae and two small, thicker setae in posterior point of the gena; two occipital rows, respectively, of one and five setae.
Thorax: Prothorax with anterior row of five small setae and posterior row of seven with intercalaries. Mesothorax: 14 small setae and principal row of 6 longer setae; 10 pseudosetae. Metathorax: four anterior setae and posterior row of seven longer setae, most dorsal seta curved. Metepimeron with four long setae; spiracle pointed, or shaped as a ''nightcap''. Femoral guard setae long; external half the length of internal. Tibia with eight notches on dorsal margin. Notches II, V and VIII with, at least, one long seta. Longest seta of notch VIII extends to apex of first tarsomere. Longest seta of this tarsomere extends to apex of tarsomere II; longest seta of tarsomere II extends to half of the length of distitarsomere.
Abdominal segments: Tergum I with eight spinelets, four on each side. Tergum II with row of seven long setae, most ventral seta at level of spiracle. Same setation on terga III to VII, but most ventral seta below spiracles; spiracles relatively large and rounded. Tergum VIII ( Figure 2) with small area of seven or eight small setae anterior to spiracle; spiracle marginal and vermiform. Unciform sclerotization present (see below). Anal stylet ( Figure 1) long, conical, with one small seta below insertion of long apical seta. Below ventral anal segment four long marginal setae and 16-18 lateral setae of various lengths and seven to eight thin, small mesal setae. Sternum II with 1 barely discernible striarium and laterally 17 thin lateral setae and 2 small marginal setae. Sternum III with lateral row of six setae and three to four dispersed setae. Sterna IV and V with main row of four or five setae and one isolated seta. Sternum VI with simple row of five setae. Sternum VII ( Figure 2) with row of six setae inserted on half of the segment. Margin gently convex. Sternum VIII ( Figure 2) large with four to five apical microsetae.
Spermatheca: Bulga angular (Figure 3), slightly wider than long; hilla slightly curved, twice as long as bulga; ductus obturatus and ductus spermathecae of same width, the d. s. twice as long as the d. o. Typically, for this group, ductus bursa appears as a curved ''e''.

Ectinorus (Ectinorus) insignis
Beaucournu & Gonzá lez-Acuñ a n. sp. Etymology: from the Latin word insignis derived from in signum ''showing a particular character'', this in reference to the male genitalia.

Description
Ectinorus insignis n. sp. has a well-developed processus basimeris ventralis and belongs to the ''hapalus-group'' (Smit, 1987) [36]. From a dichotomous view, this character is not chosen by this author who uses the presence or absence of spinelets on tergum I.
Head capsule: frontal tubercle not very prominently situated a short distance from the labial angle. Maxillary and labial palps extend slightly beyond the apex of trochanter. Segments I and III of maxillary palpus are the same length but slightly shorter than II or IV. Labial palpus with eight segments, including basal segment. Pre-antennal seta of male well developed, but very thin and small in female. Three pre-ocular setae, the ventral one longer as typical. Eye pigmented, indented and with sclerotized ''bridge'' near the gena. One post-ocular seta, three marginal setae and one very small spiniform seta on angle between gena and antennal fossa. three occipital rows with one, one and four setae in the male but only two rows in the female of one and four setae.
Thorax: prothorax with one marginal row of six well-developed setae and one anterior row of three. Male with single pseudoseta, female with two. Mesothorax with one marginal row of four long setae and anteriorly three to four small ones; one row of pseudosetae, 13 in the male, 12 in the female. Metathorax with one marginal row of four well-developed setae. Metepimeron with four setae and the spiracle shaped like a ''nightcap''. Femur I: femoral guard setae very unequal in length (internal seta length and thickness twice that of the external one). Femur III: internal femoral-tibia guard seta four times as long as the external one but only slightly thicker. Tibia III with six dorsal notches bearing setae, the second, fourth and sixth with at least one long slender seta. First tarsomere III with a long apical seta as long as this segment. Second tarsomere III with a tuft of three long setae, the longest extending beyond the apex of the distitarsomere in the male and half that length in the female.
Abdomen (unmodified segments): male tergum I without spinelet while the female has one or two small spinelets. Terga II-VII, one principal row of six setae, the most ventral at level of spiracle in the male but below the spiracle in the female. Spiracles practically round in the male whereas shaped like a «nightcap» in the female. One ante-sensilial seta; marginal in the female, as typical. Sensilium typical with 17-18 pits. Sternum II with two thin marginal setae; three thin lateral setae (male) or 16-18 (female). Striarium absent. Sterna III and IV with row of three thin setae (male) or two to three (female). Sterna V-VII with one row of two thin setae (male) or respectively three, five and six long, thin and gently curved setae (female).
Abdomen (male genital segments): Sternum VIII ( Figure 4) with inferior-distal lobe as in numerous species of Ectinorus. Lobe, circular with two small curved setae on its posterior margin, linked to the segment by a well-sclerotized connection (in lateral aspect). Segment IX ( Figure 5) with very long processus basimeris ventralis appears longer due to lack of setae on posterior-margin of basimere.
Processus basimeris or Basimere: anterior and posterior edges subequal. About 10 thin setae on anterior and external borders. Margin of posterior border with one row of nine setae (slightly thicker than the drawing). Below this row, border is hyaline and naked. Inferior margin with thin setae. Ventral margin of manubrium forms a straight line visible but not as marked as in E. ineptus. Processus basimeris ventralis narrow, relatively long, with an acuminate apex; apex is anteriorly folded up as in a penknife. External part with three long and six shorter setae on its lateral margin. Internal part with only small setae. Dorsal margin of p.b.v., with two long setae; most anterior seta at base of this process Processus telomeris ( Figure 6) or Telomere, entirely masked by basimere, not extending beyond basimere as in simonsi and nomisis. Telomere longer than broad with triangular apex posterior end forming a short forward process.
Sternum IX ( Figure 5): Proximal arm broad basally, narrower ventrally; distal arm narrow, then broader with a pointed apex. One short median seta and seven long curved setae on ventral margin. Tuft of six to seven small thin setae on internal surface.
Sternum VII (Figure 8): posterior margin convex on ventral half with five long setae remote margin; no other seta. Anal stylet ( Figure 10) cylindrical with one apical seta long and gently curved, and basally one very small seta. Sternum VIII longer than wide (and very different from E. ineptus in this regard).
Spermatheca (Figure 9): bulga somewhat quadrangular; area cribriformis in the middle of proximal end; hilla broad and subrectangular. Ductus bursae with shape of a cursive e, characteristic of this species-group, for example in ineptus, convexus, hirsutus, etc.
A non-genital difference is noted for the first time. Ectinorus are split into two groups by Smit [36] with respect to whether or not they have spinelets on the margin of tergum I. As we have stated, E. insignis n. sp. belongs to the hapalusgroup, having processus basimeris ventralis, but unlike ineptus and hirsutus the male has no spinelet on tergum I and the female has only one or two instead of the more typical, four or six. Indeed, Dysmicus Jordan, 1942 [21] is characterized by no spinelet on tergum I, seems to mirror Ectinorus, in this respect.
Segment IX: Basimere has the same general shape as in the taxa previously mentioned. However in insignis it is less compact; the posterior margin and chaetotaxy are also different. E. splendidus, hirsutus and insignis have almost the same processus basimeris ventralis (pbv), but in E. insignis it is straight and not bent at right angles as in E. hirsutus. The pbv is short, massive and inserted at the base of basimere in E. ineptus. Among E. Ectinorus, only E. splendidus and E. insignis share-related shapes of the pbv. Sternum IX is close to that of E. ineptus by its pointed apex. The lobe of sternum VIII is not present in E. splendidus. This lobe is almost circular in E. insignis and in E. ineptus. However it bears only two setae in E. insignis while there are eight or nine in E. ineptus (six or eight in our specimens); E. hirsutus also has a circular ventrally indented lobe. For E. insignis, sternum VII only has five setae adjacent from the margin, whereas there are 10-11 setae (11 and 12 in our specimens) close to the margin in E. ineptus and E. hirsutus. The sternum of E. splendidus is very different.
Females are very similar to each other (the female of E. splendidus is currently unknown) and always have unciform sclerotization.
Host specificity: At this time, Ectinorus insignis n. sp. is only known from Eligmodontia puerulus, a sigmodontine rodent, which is also a secondary host of Ectinorus ineptus, as cited above.
Combining these data and ours, we report unciform sclerotization for Malacopsylloidea in Table 1.
In conclusion, there is unciform sclerotization for the two genera of Malacopsyllidae. In Rhopalopsyllidae -Parapsyllinae, it is present for every species of Delostichus, Tetrapsyllus, Ectinorus, Eritranis and Listronius studied. However, curiously, the enigmatic Ectinorus (Panallius) galeanus does not have it. Finally, it seems to be present in all species and subspecies of the subfamily Rhopalopsyllinae in the Rhopalopsyllidae. This structure varies in size and shape depending on the species but its presence can help species classification. We did not aim to search for the slerotization in all Siphonaptera, but hopefully by this note, we will draw attention to this structure by other researchers. Indeed the structure appears to have taxonomic value in the classification of particular subgenera within the genus Ctenophthalmus. Females, for example in Rhopalopsyllidae, are difficult to identify. Therefore, the presence or absence of sclerotization must be well figured or at least reported to aid in identification.