New records for chewing lice of the genus Neumann, 1906 (Phthiraptera: Amblycera) on two swifts from Saudi Arabia.

Background: Very little is known about the chewing lice fauna of Saudi Arabia especially from swifts (Apodidae). Swifts are common resident and migratory birds throughout Saudi Arabia. Two chewing lice genera are known for parasitising swifts throughout the world: Neumann, 1906 and Nitzsch, 1818, none of which have been recorded from the Kingdom before.

New Information: Two species of resident wild swifts were examined for chewing lice for the first time in Saudi Arabia. Two rare lice species were identified: D. (Dennyus) hirundinis (Linnaeus, 1761) and sp. (Phthiraptera: Amblycera: Menoponidae) infesting the common swift (Linnaeus, 1758) and African palm swift (Lichtenstein, 1823), respectively. The described chewing lice species are considered as new country records. They will be added to the Saudi Arabia parasitic fauna. Taxonomical and ecological remarks were provided for the identified chewing lice through this work, along with notes on swift/chewing lice interaction.