Four new species of Brueelia Kéler, 1936 (Phthiraptera: Ischnocera: Philopteridae) from African songbirds (Passeriformes: Sturnidae and Laniidae) Author Gustafsson, Daniel R. Author Bush, Sarah E. text Zootaxa 2015 4013 4 503 518 journal article 10.11646/zootaxa.4013.4.2 ea14f8d9-8bdf-4159-a629-5fd0ac26d608 1175-5326 241671 E573E443-9D0B-4582-B8E2-CADFC03C1A1E Brueelia Kéler, 1936 Type species: Brueelia rossittensis Kéler, 1936 : 257 [= Brueelia brachythorax ( Giebel, 1874 ) : 134] ex Bombycilla garrulus garrulus (Linnaeus, 1758), by original designation. clara species group Brueelia clara new species Brueelia rigbyi new species Brueelia tkachi new species Brueelia coryliventer new species These four species share the following characters with Brueelia brachythorax : dorsal preantennal suture absent; marginal carina complete, but displaced posteriorly and dorsally at osculum; as3 absent; pns absent; mts2 short; both sexes without tps on tergites II–VII; psps absent on female tergites II–V; female subgenital plate with crosspiece; tergite XI in female not fused with IX+X; male mesosome with large lateral lobes and distal ornamentation (rugose area, fringes, papillation, etc.); parameres with blunt proximal ends that do not extend medianly to overlap with proximal mesosome. All four species described here have the following characters in common which differ from B. brachythorax : pos set on ocular lens; ss present on female tergite VIII; mesosome of the male genitalia with a sinuous distal thickening. This thickening has a lateral fold ( lf ) and a median fold ( mf ) ( Fig. 9 ), with a densely rugose area in between. These unique characters unify these four species and warrant their treatment as a distinct species group within Brueelia sensu stricto .