Abstract:
A total of 234 helmeted guineafowls, Numida meleagris coronata , were examined for lice at five localities
in South Africa. These were the Mountain Zebra National Park in the eastern Karoo, Cape Province; the
Andries Vosloo Kudu Reserve and the farm Bucklands, in Valley Bushveld, eastern Cape Province; the
Bontebok National Park, south-western Cape Province; and the southern part of the Kruger National Park,
eastern Transvaal Lowveld.
A total of eight louse species, comprising Amyrsidea desousai, Clayia theresae, Goniodes gigas, Goniodes
numidae, Lipeurus numidae, Numidicola antennatus, Numidilipeurus lawrensis and Somaphantus lusius
were recovered from the guineafowls. With the exception of A. desousai, which was not recovered from
the guineafowls in the Bontebok National Park, all eight species were present on the birds at each locality.
The prevalence of infestations on the birds at the various localities ranged from 99,2-100%, and the numbers
of lice present on individual birds, from 0-3619. Goniodes spp. and N. antennatus were the most abundant
and A. desousai the least.
