Sucking louse
| Sucking louse | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Linognathus setosus (Linognathidae) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Clade: | Pancrustacea |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Psocodea |
| Suborder: | Troctomorpha |
| Infraorder: | Phthiraptera |
| Parvorder: | Anoplura Leach, 1815 |
| Families | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Siphunculata[1] | |
Sucking lice (known scientifically as Anoplura) are a parvorder[2] of around 550 species of lice. All sucking lice are blood-feeding ectoparasites of mammals. They can cause localized skin irritations and are vectors of several blood-borne diseases.
At least three species or subspecies of Anoplura are parasites of humans; the human condition of being infested with sucking lice is called pediculosis. 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.
Classification
[edit]Sucking lice are classified as a parvorder called Anoplura, named by Leach in 1815. Anoplura belongs to the infraorder Phthiraptera, which contains all lice, and is part of the larger order Psocodea, which also contains booklice, barklice and barkflies.
External phylogeny
[edit]A cladogram showing the position of Anoplura within Phthiraptera and Psocodea is shown below:[3]
Internal phylogeny
[edit]A cladogram showing the internal phylogeny of Anoplura is shown below, with paraphyletic groupings noted:[4]
| Anoplura |
|