Phylogenetic relationships in the louse genus Penenirmus based on nuclear (EF-l alpha) and mitochondrial (COI) DNA sequences

Ischnoceran lice in genus Penenirmus are parasites of birds in orders Piciformes and Passeriformes. No comprehensive revision of this genus has been published, but a few host-based revisions have been done. Here we present a phylogenetic analysis of Penenirmus based on nuclear (elongation factor-1 alpha) and mitochondrial (cytochrome oxidase I) gene sequences. Sequences from portions of both these genes provide a well resolved tree that is relatively stable across methods of analysis and to bootstrap resampling. Some aspects of the Penenirmus phylogeny reflect the phylogeny of their avian hosts. We identified monophyly of a group of Penenirmus species occurring on Passeriformes as well as monophyly of a group containing species sometimes placed in a genus Picophilopterus. Species of Penenirmus occurring on Old World barbets fall in several positions at the base of the tree, suggesting that other lineages of Penenirmus may be derived from those occurring on Old World barbets.