Sucking lice (Anoplura, formerly known as Siphunculata) have around 500
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
and represent the smaller of the two traditional
superfamilies of
lice. As opposed to the
paraphyletic chewing lice
The Mallophaga are a possibly paraphyletic section
Section, Sectioning or Sectioned may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea
* Section (typography), a subdivision, especia ...
, which are now divided among three
suborders, the sucking lice are
monophyletic.
The Anoplura are all blood-feeding
ectoparasites
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 ha ...
of
mammals. They only occur on about 20% of all placentalian mammal species, and are unknown from several orders of mammals (
Monotremata,
Edentata
Xenarthra (; from Ancient Greek ξένος, xénos, "foreign, alien" + ἄρθρον, árthron, "joint") is a major clade of placental mammals native to the Americas. There are 31 living species: the anteaters, tree sloths, and armadillos. Ex ...
,
Pholidota
Pangolins, sometimes known as scaly anteaters, are mammals of the order Pholidota (, from Ancient Greek ϕολιδωτός – "clad in scales"). The one extant family, the Manidae, has three genera: ''Manis'', ''Phataginus'', and ''Smutsia'' ...
,
Chiroptera
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bir ...
,
Cetacea,
Sirenia
The Sirenia (), commonly referred to as sea-cows or sirenians, are an order of fully aquatic, herbivorous mammals that inhabit swamps, rivers, estuaries, marine wetlands, and coastal marine waters. The Sirenia currently comprise two distinct ...
, and
Proboscidea).
[Piotrowski, F. (1992): Anoplura (echte Läuse). de Gruiter; 61 pp. (page 8)] They can cause localized skin irritations and are
vector
Vector most often refers to:
*Euclidean vector, a quantity with a magnitude and a direction
*Vector (epidemiology), an agent that carries and transmits an infectious pathogen into another living organism
Vector may also refer to:
Mathematic ...
s of several blood-borne diseases. Children appear particularly susceptible to attracting lice, possibly due to their fine hair.
At least three species or subspecies of Anoplura are parasites of humans; the human condition of being infested with sucking lice is called
pediculosis
Pediculosis is an infestation of lice from the sub-order Anoplura, family Pediculidae. Accordingly, the infestation with head lice is named pediculosis capitis, while this with body lice, pediculosis corporis. Although ''pediculosis'' in humans ma ...
. ''Pediculus humanus'' is divided into two subspecies, ''Pediculus humanus humanus'', or the
human body louse, sometimes nicknamed "the seam squirrel" for its habit of laying of eggs in the seams of clothing, and ''Pediculus humanus capitis'', or the
human head louse. ''Pthirus pubis'' (the
human pubic louse) is the cause of the condition known as
crabs
Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...
.
Families
These 15
families
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideal ...
are generally recognized in the Anoplura:
*
Echinophthiriidae Enderlein, 1904 – (seal lice)
*
Enderleinellidae Ewing, 1929
*
Haematopinidae Enderlein, 1904 – (ungulate lice)
*
Hamophthiriidae Johnson, 1969
*
Hoplopleuridae Ewing, 1929 – (armoured lice)
*
Hybophthiridae Ewing, 1929
*
Linognathidae
Linognathidae is a family of lice in the order Psocodea. There are at least 3 genera and 70 described species in Linognathidae.
Genera
These three genera
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of li ...
Webb, 1946 – (pale lice)
*
Microthoraciidae Kim & Lugwig, 1978
*
Neolinognathidae Fahrenholz, 1936
*
Pecaroecidae von Kéler, 1963
*
Pedicinidae Enderlein, 1904 – (Old World monkey lice)
*
Pediculidae
''Pediculus'' is a genus of sucking lice, the sole genus in the family Pediculidae. ''Pediculus'' species are ectoparasites of primates.
Species include:
*''Pediculus clavicornis'' Nitzsch, 1864
*''Pediculus humanus'' Linnaeus, 1758
**''Pediculu ...
Leach, 1817 – (body lice)
*
Polyplacidae Fahrenholz, 1912 – (spiny rat lice)
*
Pthiridae Ewing, 1929 – (pubic lice)
*
Ratemiidae Kim & Lugwig, 1978
See also
*
Use of DNA in forensic entomology
Forensic entomology has three sub-fields: urban, stored product and medico-criminal entomologies. This article focuses on medico-criminal entomology and how DNA is analyzed with various blood-feeding insects.
Forensic entomology can be an import ...
References
External links
''Solenopotes capillatus'', little blue cattle louseon the
UF /
IFAS Featured Creatures Web site
VectorBase homepage for ''Pediculus humanus''(genome browser, downloads and more)
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Lice