''Psoroptes'' is a genus of
mites, including the agents that cause psoroptic mange.
Psoroptic mange
''Psoroptes'' mites are responsible for causing psoroptic
mange in various animals, leading to
economic loss
Economic loss is a term of art which refers to financial loss and damage suffered by a person which is seen only on a balance sheet and not as physical injury to person or property. There is a fundamental distinction between pure economic loss and ...
es among farmers of
cattle,
sheep and
goats.
It is also known as sheep scab and cattle scab.
The disease is highly
infectious, and is transmitted via fenceposts and other structures that livestock use when scratching themselves.
The mites have
mouthparts
Mouthparts may refer to:
* The parts of a mouth
** Arthropod mouthparts
*** Insect mouthparts
{{disambig ...
which do not pierce the skin, but are adapted to feeding on the surface, where the mites abrade the
stratum corneum
The stratum corneum (Latin for 'horny layer') is the outermost layer of the epidermis. The human stratum corneum comprises several levels of flattened corneocytes that are divided into two layers: the ''stratum disjunctum'' and ''stratum compact ...
.
See
Mites of livestock
Mites are small crawling animals related to ticks and spiders. Most mites are free-living and harmless. Other mites are parasitic, and those that infest livestock animals cause many diseases that are widespread, reduce production and profit for f ...
for photographs of infestations by ''Psoroptes''.
Taxonomy
''Psoroptes'' has been traditionally considered to include five species living on different host species, but genetic analysis has reduced the genus to a single species, ''Psoroptes ovis''.
References
External links
*
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q6470951, from2=Q4357712
Sarcoptiformes
Parasitic acari
Veterinary entomology
Monotypic arthropod genera