Evaluation of Genetic Diversity in Quill Mites of the Genus Kethley, 1970 (Prostigmata: Syringophilidae) with Six New-to-Science Species.

Quill mites (Acariformes: Syringophilidae) are poorly explored bird parasites. Kethley, 1970, is the most specious and widespread genus in this family. It is believed to contain mono-, steno- and poly-xenous parasites and thus seems to be an exemplary for studies on biodiversity and host associations. In this work, we applied the DNA barcode marker (mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene fragment, COI) to analyze the species composition and host specificity of representatives of fifteen populations parasitizing fifteen bird species. The neighbor joining analyses distinguished thirteen monophyletic lineages, almost completely corresponding to seven previously known species recognized based on morphological features, and six new-to-science species. The only exception is Skoracki, 2017, which is most likely conspecific with Skoracki, 2004. The intraspecific distances of all species were not higher than 0.9%, whilst the interspecific diversity ranged from 5.9% to 19.2% and 6.3-22.4%, inferred as the distances and K2P, respectively. Although all putative species (except ) are highly supported, the relationships between them have not been fully resolved and only faintly indicate that both host phylogeny and distributions influence the phylogenetic structure of quill mite taxa.