Hypopi of Hypodectes propus (Acari: Hypoderatidae) in two southern crowned pigeons (Goura scheepmakeri)

Necropsy of 2 4-year-old southern crowned pigeons (Goura scheepmakeri) that died from a presumed case of botulism revealed hundreds of small, cyst-like structures in the pectoral subcutaneous tissues. The structures were identified as heteromorphic deutonymphs of Hypodectes propus (Order Astigmata) of the family Hypoderatidae. The immobile, immature hypopi were individually encapsulated, mostly in adipose tissue, and evoked only a mild inflammatory infiltration of predominately macrophages with some heterophilic granulocytes. The infection was not considered a serious health problem and was interpreted as an incidental finding. To our knowledge, this is a new host record for H. propus.