Polyplacidae

Family of lice

Polyplacidae
Eulinognathus denticulatus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Psocodea
Suborder: Troctomorpha
Infraorder: Nanopsocetae
Parvorder: Phthiraptera
Superfamily: Anoplura
Family: Polyplacidae
Fahrenholz, 1912
Genera

See text

Polyplacidae is a family of lice in the suborder Anoplura, the sucking lice. Lice in this family are known commonly as the spiny rat lice.[1] The family has a cosmopolitan distribution. As of 2010 there were 193 species.[2]

These are small to medium-sized lice. They are usually sexually dimorphic. They have 5-segmented antennae and small, slender, clawed forelegs. Their middle and hindlegs may be almost equal in size, or the hindlegs may be larger.[3]

Lice in this family are parasites of many types of small mammals, including spiny rats, cavies, rabbits, hares, chinchillas, bushbabies, lemurs, squirrels, shrews, pouched rats, treeshrews, hyraxes, and Oriental dormice.[2]

Members of this family are quite variable based on its current description and molecular data suggest that the family is paraphyletic. It requires study and a revision to make the description of the family as a whole more accurate.[2]

Genera include:[4]

  • Abrocomaphthirus[3]
  • Ctenophthirus
  • Cuyana
  • Docophthirus
  • Eulinognathus
  • Fahrenholzia
  • Galeophthirus
  • Haemodipsus
  • Johnsonpthirus
  • Lagidiophthirus
  • Lemurpediculus
  • Lemurphthirus
  • Linognathoides
  • Mirophthirus
  • Neohaematopinus
  • Phthirpediculus
  • Polyplax
  • Proenderleinellus
  • Sathrax
  • Scipio
  • Typhlomyophthirus

References

  1. ^ Classification of Phthiraptera (Anoplura). An Introduction To Entomology. Discoveries in Natural History & Exploration. University of California, Riverside.
  2. ^ a b c Light, J. E., et al. (2010). Evolutionary history of mammalian sucking lice (Phthiraptera: Anoplura). BMC Evolutionary Biology, 10(1), 292.
  3. ^ a b Durden, L. A. & Webb, J. P. (1999). Abrocomaphthirus hoplai, a new genus and species of sucking louse from Chile and its relevance to zoogeography. Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine Medical and Veterinary Entomology, 13(4), 447-452.
  4. ^ Polyplacidae. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)

Media related to Polyplacidae at Wikimedia Commons

  • v
  • t
  • e
Extant Psocodea families
Suborder Trogiomorpha
Atropetae
Prionoglaridetae
Psyllipsocetae
Suborder Troctomorpha
Amphientometae
Nanopsocetae
Phthiraptera
(lice)
Amblycera
Anoplura
(sucking lice)
Ischnocera
(paraphyletic)
Rhyncophthirina
Ischnocera, Rhyncophthirina and Amblycera comprise paraphyletic suborder Mallophaga (chewing lice).
Suborder Psocomorpha
Archipsocetae
Caeciliusetae
Epipsocetae
Homilopsocidea
Philotarsetae
Psocetae
Order Psocodea is comprised of paraphyletic Psocoptera (book lice or bark lice) and monophyletic Phthiraptera (lice), both previously classified as orders.
Taxon identifiers
Polyplacidae