Abstract
[Display omitted]
•The first study deals with chewing lice of Egyptian fauna since 1968.•Columbiformes hosts were examined for chewing lice during the year of 2018 in three different localities in Egypt.•One new species Columbicola joudiae n. sp. and six new records (Colpocephalum turbinatum Denny, 1842; Campanulotes bidentatus (Scopoli, 1763); Campanulotes compar (Burmeister, 1838); Coloceras chinense (Kellogg & Chapman, 1902b); Coloceras piageti (Johnston & Harrison, 1912b); Columbicola tschulyschman Eichler, 1942) of chewing lice were found infesting the examined Columbiformes hosts.
Little information is available about the chewing lice of wild birds of Egypt, including common groups such as pigeons and doves (Columbiformes). Through this work, parasitic chewing lice of common columbiformes of Egypt were revised including new data. Three species of pigeons and doves (Streptopelia decaocto Frivaldszky 1838, Spilopelia senegalensis Linnaeus 1766 and Columba livia Gmelin 1789) were examined for chewing lice at three different localities. A total of 124 specimens of lice were collected. Nine species were identified from these samples; one species (Columbicola joudiae n. sp.) was considered a new species to science, six species were recorded from Egypt for the first time, and two species have been identified in Egypt before. Taxonomic and ecological remarks for all identified chewing lice samples are provided along with known and local hosts, measurements and material examined. Description and images of the new species are also provided.