Menoponidae

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Menoponidae
BirdLouse.jpg
Female Menopon biseriatum
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Psocodea
Suborder: Troctomorpha
Infraorder: Nanopsocetae
Parvorder: Phthiraptera
Clade: Amblycera
Family: Menoponidae
Genera

Several, see text

Menoponidae is a monophyletic family of lice in the superfamily of chewing lice, Amblycera, often referred to as the chicken body louse family. [1] They are ectoparasites of a wide range of birds including chickens, which makes them important to understand for veterinary science and for human health. However, Menoponidae are not exclusive to poultry and are common parasites for migratory birds, with more and more species being discovered every year. [2] [3]

Contents

Biology

Genera and species within the family Menoponidae are identified by their short antennae, concealed in grooves behind the eyes. [4] To the untrained eye, it may appear as though they have no antennae. [4] Most lice also further specialize to specific regions on their hosts such as the fluff at the base of the tail, the head, and the shaft. [5] In fact, if a species that is better suited to tail feathers is presented with the opportunity to infest a different type of feather, they will make an attempt to eat those feathers but will fail to reproduce and soon die. [2] As a group within the subfamily Amblycera, lice within the family Menoponidae are still partially dependent on blood as a source of food and are therefore better able to be generalists. [2] The lice will scratch and nibble at the base of the feather in order to obtain this blood and modified mouth organs, such as the hypopharynx, is used to collect the blood. Due to their ability to utilize blood as a source of food, families in Amblycera, such as Menoponidae, often do not specialize to specific locations on the host and will lay their eggs most anywhere on the host. [3] [6] This lack of specialization often makes it more difficult to distinguish one species from another in Menoponidae, without the use of microscopic techniques. [6] As with all lice, those in the family Menoponidae have the capability of reproducing quickly and causing large-scale outbreaks. Due to the close contact of poultry in large-scale productions, this capability is often acutely realized.

Ecology

Lice in the family Menoponidae, due to their ability to feed on blood, are often the first parasites found on birds, especially birds with nidifugous young. Nidifugous young are born with feathers and therefore are particularly susceptible to lice in the family Menoponidae. [2] Menoponidae lice frequently have a wider range of distribution among species. [3] In a study of 25 heavily infested birds in India, lice in the family Menoponidae were the most-common parasites. [3]

Species of interest

Menacanthus stramineus – An ectoparasite of domesticated chickens and turkeys and the most common louse found on poultry worldwide. Eggs hatch in 4–5 days with a 14-day period required for maturatation from nymph to adult. Adult females can deposit approximately 1.5 eggs per day for 12.5 days. [5]

Menopon gallinae – Louse commonly found on domesticated chickens and guinea fowl. Their common name, the shaft louse, is given due to their habit of resting on feather shafts when undisturbed. When disturbed, lice of these species will quickly run onto the body to avoid the threat. [5]

Selected genera

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louse</span> Order of insects

Louse is the common name for any member of the clade Phthiraptera, which contains nearly 5,000 species of wingless parasitic insects. Phthiraptera has variously been recognized as an order, infraorder, or a parvorder, as a result of developments in phylogenetic research.

<i>Mallophaga</i> Suborder of lice

The Mallophaga are a possibly paraphyletic section of lice, known as chewing lice, biting lice, or bird lice, containing more than 3000 species. These lice are external parasites that feed mainly on birds, although some species also feed on mammals. They infest both domestic and wild mammals and birds, and cause considerable irritation to their hosts. They have paurometabolis or incomplete metamorphosis.

<i>Haematomyzus</i> Genus of lice

The genus Haematomyzus includes three species of lice that differ so markedly from all other lice that the genus is placed in its own family Haematomyzidae, itself monotypic within the superfamily Rhynchophthirina. These unusual lice are ectoparasites of elephants and warthogs. Their mouthparts are elongated to form a drill-like structure that allows them to penetrate the thick skin of their host.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amblycera</span> Suborder of lice

The Amblycera are a large clade of chewing lice, parasitic on both birds and mammals. The Amblycera are considered the most primitive clade of lice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crab louse</span> Species of insect

The crab louse or pubic louse is an insect that is an obligate ectoparasite of humans, feeding exclusively on blood. The crab louse usually is found in the person's pubic hair. Although the louse cannot jump, it can also live in other areas of the body that are covered with coarse hair, such as the perianal area, the entire body, and the eyelashes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Head louse</span> Insect parasite of humans

The head louse is an obligate ectoparasite of humans. Head lice are wingless insects that spend their entire lives on the human scalp and feed exclusively on human blood. Humans are the only known hosts of this specific parasite, while chimpanzees and bonobos host a closely related species, Pediculus schaeffi. Other species of lice infest most orders of mammals and all orders of birds.

A bird louse is any chewing louse of order Phthiraptera which parasitizes warm-blooded animals, especially birds. Bird lice may feed on feathers, skin, or blood. They have no wings, and their biting mouth parts distinguish them from true lice, which suck blood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snow partridge</span> Species of bird

The snow partridge is a gamebird in the pheasant family Phasianidae found widely distributed across the high-altitude Himalayan regions of Pakistan, China, India and Nepal. It is the only species within its genus, and is thought to be the most basal member of the "erectile clade" of the subfamily Phasianinae. The species is found in alpine pastures and open hillside above the treeline but not in as bare rocky terrain as the Himalayan snowcock and is not as wary as that species. Males and females look similar in plumage but males have a spur on their tarsus.

<i>Haematopinus</i> Genus of lice

Haematopinus is a genus of insects in the superfamily Anoplura, the sucking lice. It is the only genus in the family Haematopinidae, known commonly as the ungulate lice. All known species are of importance in veterinary medicine. These lice are some of the most economically important ectoparasites of domestic animals. Species infest many domesticated and wild large mammals, including cattle, horses, donkeys, swine, water buffalo, African buffalo, antelope, zebra, deer, and camels. The species Haematopinus tuberculatus has great importance in the water buffalo breading, since this louse is specific to buffaloes, being the main ectoparasite of the species, with important sanitary and economic burden. The Haematopinus tuberculatus is suspected to be involved in the transmission of diseases, such as anaplasmosis. The parasites are found infesting buffaloes in greater concentrations around the ears, base of horns, side of the neck, around the scrotum or udder, and especially at the tip of the tail.

The Laemobothriidae are a family of a larger group Amblycera of the chewing lice. Most commonly they are ectoparasites of birds. The genera are sometimes all united in Laemobothrion.

<i>Menacanthus</i> Genus of lice

Menacanthus is a genus of chewing lice which parasitise birds. The taxonomy of this genus is highly uncertain. Most taxonomies have given this genus as having over a hundred species, but recent studies have synonymised dozens of species and found other names to be invalid. Some Menacanthus species remain to be discovered, or are synonymised in error. Menacanthus lice feed on the blood of a wide variety of birds, including chickens, by piercing the quills of feathers and gnawing the epidermis. In doing so, they can spread disease and lower egg production. In Menacanthus stramineus, eggs are incubated for four or five days, each of the three nymphal stages lasts for about three days, and adult life for about twelve days. Females produce as many as four eggs in a day, averaging 1.6 eggs a day, with egg production peaking 5–6 days after reaching adulthood. On sparrows, Menacanthus lice are particularly common, and are found in many different niches, consuming blood and feathers.

Brueelia is a genus of bird lice in the family Philopteridae that infest Passerine (perching) birds. Lice in Brueelia are usually host specific, with more than 85% of described species each found on a single host bird species. Over 300 species of Brueelia have been described, and many more specimens that are presumed to belong to Brueelia are awaiting description and naming.

<i>Trichodectes canis</i> Species of louse

Trichodectes canis, also known as canine chewing louse, is a chewing louse found on domesticated dogs and wild canids throughout the world. T. canis is a well-known vector for the dog tapeworm, Dipylidium caninum. T. canis usually does not present any major problems to the host, however, can be very irritating in heavy infestations. In North America and most developed countries, T. canis infestation of domesticated dogs is very uncommon as long as they are properly cared for and healthy. Poorly taken care of dogs are more prone to getting a lice infestation.

<i>Solenopotes capillatus</i> Species of louse

Solenopotes capillatus is known as the little blue cattle louse in the United States and the tubercle-bearing louse in Australia. This louse is the smallest of the sucking lice that occur on cattle and is a relatively immobile species. They are found all around the world in distribution but are restricted mainly to areas with domestic livestock. The little blue cattle louse is most often found on the head of its host, primarily the face and jaw region, but sporadically is found on other body parts. It is relatively immobile so typically will not relocate on its host's body. The louse is spread by direct contact and is considered an ectoparasite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mites of livestock</span> Small crawling animals related to ticks and spiders

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 farmers, and are expensive to control.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ricinidae</span> Family of lice

The Ricinidae are a family of a larger group Amblycera of the chewing lice. All species are relatively large bodied avian ectoparasites. They typically exhibit low prevalence and low intensity. They feed on host blood which is atypical in chewing lice. Two or three genera are recognized.

<i>Colpocephalum</i> Genus of lice

Colpocephalum is a genus of chewing louse. Christian Ludwig Nitzsch named the genus in 1818. The Plenary Powers of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature selected Colpocephalum zebraBurmeister, 1838 as its type species in the 1950s. There are approximately 135 species in this genus, and they are ectoparasites of birds in at least a dozen different orders.

<i>Apterygon</i> Genus of lice

Apterygon is a genus of louse. It is endemic to New Zealand and is an ectoparasite of kiwi birds (Apteryx). Theresa Clay circumscribed the genus in 1961. In 1947, she had referred to this genus as "New Genus D", but it was not formally named as she needed to confirm the host of her specimen as well as additional material.

<i>Actornithophilus</i> Genus of lice

Actornithophilus is a genus of louse in the family Amblycera. It was circumscribed by Gordon Floyd Ferris in 1916. Its species are ectoparasites of birds in the order Charadriiformes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harrison's rule</span>

Harrison's rule is an observation in evolutionary biology by Launcelot Harrison which states that in comparisons across closely related species, host and parasite body sizes tend to covary positively.

References

  1. Marshall, I. K. (2003). "A morphological phylogeny for four families of amblyceran lice (Phthiraptera: Amblycera: Menoponidae, Boopiidae, Laemobothriidae, Ricinidae)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society138(1): 39–82.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Ash, J. S. (1960). "A study of the Mallophaga of birds with particular reference to their ecology". Ibis102(1): 93–110.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Trivedi, M. C., et al. (1991). "The distribution of lice (Phthiraptera) on poultry (Gallus domesticus)". International Journal for Parasitology21(2): 247–249.
  4. 1 2 Clay, T. (1969). "A key to the genera of the Menoponidae (Amblycera: Mallophaga: Insecta)". Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Entomology24: 3–26.
  5. 1 2 3 Bay, D. E., and R. L. Harris. Introduction to Veterinary Entomology. Bryan, TX: Stonefly Pub., 1988. Print.
  6. 1 2 Balter, R. S. (1968). "Lice egg morphology as a guide to taxonomy". Medical and Biological Illustration18: 94–95.
  7. Roger D. Price , James R. Beer, The Genus Psittacobrosus (Mallophaga: Menoponidae) of the Neotropical Psittaciformes, Annals of the Entomological Society of America, Volume 61, Issue 2, 15 March 1968, Pages 261–276, https://doi.org/10.1093/aesa/61.2.261