This week’s mystery louse was collected in Argentina on a Nothura maculosa nigroguttata (Tinaformes: Tinamidae) (Salvadori, 1895).
![Microscopic photo of a mystery Mallophaga that was found on a spotted nothura.](https://farm1.staticflickr.com/289/18924860205_9ba21e2f72.jpg)
The spotted nothura or spotted tinamou is found in southeastern South America, with the subspecies nigroguttata being native to Argentinan grasslands. You can listen to its song here, courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
![Drawing of a solitary tinamus.](https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8196/8423949256_d4c6ce0df1.jpg)
Studies have been carried out on the relationship between the size of Mallophaga with respect to that of their tinamou hosts. In addition to host-parasite size correlations, the work of Ward also found that different areas of the body of the host tinamou are occupied by Mallophaga of different body types (Ward 1957). This makes sense as it enables the lice to evade possible preening attempts, such as smaller, more compact lice with larger mandibles being found on the head and neck of the tinamou, where they could otherwise be easily brushed off.
However, on the slide on which our mystery louse was mounted, such a description of exact location on the host was not provided. We have featured a louse from a tinamou before if you would like any other hints as to what this mystery species could be.
![Photo of a spotted nothura hanging out in some short grass. It has feathers with leopard-resembling spots on them.](https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3626/5846191843_ec57c37822.jpg)
To all our American readers, have a happy Independence Day weekend!
Leave a Reply