''Polyplax spinulosa'' is a
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 ...
(Anoplura) from the genus ''
Polyplax''. It occurs worldwide and commonly infects its
type host
In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes the ...
, the
brown rat
The brown rat (''Rattus norvegicus''), also known as the common rat, street rat, sewer rat, wharf rat, Hanover rat, Norway rat, Norwegian rat and Parisian rat, is a widespread species of common rat. One of the largest muroids, it is a brown o ...
(''Rattus norvegicus''), and related species like the
black rat
The black rat (''Rattus rattus''), also known as the roof rat, ship rat, or house rat, is a common long-tailed rodent of the stereotypical rat genus ''Rattus'', in the subfamily Murinae. It likely originated in the Indian subcontinent, but is n ...
(''Rattus rattus''), ''
Rattus pyctoris'', ''
Rattus nitidus'', ''
Rattus argentiventer'', ''
Rattus tanezumi'', ''
Rattus exulans
The Polynesian rat, Pacific rat or little rat (''Rattus exulans''), known to the Māori as ''kiore'', is the third most widespread species of rat in the world behind the brown rat and black rat. The Polynesian rat originated in Southeast Asia, a ...
'', and ''
Bandicota indica
The greater bandicoot rat or Indian bandicoot rat (''Bandicota indica'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae found in Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam akistan
I ...
''. It is also occasionally found in other rodents, such as the
marsh rice rat
The marsh rice rat (''Oryzomys palustris'') is a semiaquatic North American rodent in the family Cricetidae. It usually occurs in wetland habitats, such as swamps and salt marshes. It is found mostly in the eastern and southern United States, fr ...
(''Oryzomys palustris'') in North America.
[Durden, 1988, p. 900]
References
Literature cited
*Durden, L.A. 1988
The spiny rat louse, ''Polyplax spinulosa'', as a parasite of the rice rat, ''Oryzomys palustris'', in North America(subscription required). The Journal of Parasitology 74(5):900–901.
*Durden, L.A. and Musser, G.G. 1994
The sucking lice (Insecta, Anoplura) of the world: a taxonomic checklist with records of mammalian hosts and geographical distributions Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 218:1–90.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7226766
Polyplacidae
Insects of North America
Insects described in 1839