''Lemurpediculus verruculosus'' is an

ectoparasite Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has ...

that is found on ''

Microcebus rufus The brown mouse lemur (''Microcebus rufus'') is a small primate, and like the other mouse lemurs can only be found on the island of Madagascar. They are known also as the rufous mouse lemur, eastern rufous mouse lemur, red mouse lemur, or russet ...

'', a

mouse lemur The mouse lemurs are nocturnal lemurs of the genus ''Microcebus''. Like all lemurs, mouse lemurs are native to Madagascar. Mouse lemurs have a combined head, body and tail length of less than , making them the smallest primates (the smallest spe ...

of southeastern

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

. It is a type of

sucking louse Sucking lice (Anoplura, formerly known as Siphunculata) have around 500 species and represent the smaller of the two traditional superfamilies of lice. As opposed to the paraphyletic chewing lice, which are now divided among three suborders, th ...

that is found on the external ears of the mouse lemur due to the rich peripheral

blood supply The blood circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the entire body of a human or other vertebrate. It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, tha ...

and sparse fur. The mouse lemur ''M. rufus'' is the only known host to this particular sucking louse, and infestations range from light to fairly heavy on the ears. The exact effect these lice have on the host is largely unknown. Previously, only female ''L. verruculosus'' lice were recovered during one of

Harry Hoogstraal Harry Hoogstraal (born in Chicago, Illinois, February 24, 1917, died in Cairo, Egypt, on his 69th birthday, February 24, 1986) was an American entomologist and parasitologist. He was described as "the greatest authority on ticks and tickborne dis ...

's collecting expeditions, making the female louse the better-described sex. However, it has been recently discovered that there are three sexes of this ectoparasite: male, female and an instar nymph which is morphologically and reproductively different from either male or female.

Morphology

The general body shape, lack of paratergal plates, sternal and tergal abdominal plates, and wide separation of the leg coxae, are shared by both sexes and the nymph. The total body length is , and males and females share a unique feature: a head that is well

sclerotised Sclerotin is a component of the cuticle of various Arthropoda, most familiarly insects. It is formed by cross-linking members of particular classes of protein molecules, a biochemical process called sclerotization, a form of tanning in which qui ...

, or hardened, anteriorly with broadly curved anterior margins. They have antennae that are segmented into five parts, with the first segment much larger than the other segments. There are two sutural (fused joint) head

seta In biology, setae (singular seta ; from the Latin word for "bristle") are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms. Animal setae Protostomes Annelid setae are stiff bristles present on the body. Th ...

e, four dorsal marginal head setae, two apical head setae, and one each of a dorsal anterior, central, posterior, principal, accessory, ventral, and preantennal head seta. The thorax is barely wider than the head and the forelegs are smaller than the mid and hindlegs. The abdomen is wider than the thorax, and it bears six

spiracle Spiracle or spiraculum may refer to: * Spiracle (arthropods), opening in the exoskeletons of some arthropods * Spiracle (vertebrates), openings on the surface of some vertebrates * Spiraculum, a genus of land snails in family Cyclophoridae Cycl ...

s on each side.

Nymphs A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are typ ...

have a head that has a broadly rounded anterior margin and lacks a lateral notch anterior to the antennae. Its thorax is slightly wider than its head, with gently convex lateral margins. The most basal segment, or coxae, are subtriangular. Their abdomen has nine rows of two-dorsal central abdominal seta and one fairly long dorsal lateral abdominal seta.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6521616 Lice Ectoparasites Parasites of primates Insects of Madagascar Insects described in 1951