Pthirus gorillae | |
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A magnified image of Pthirus gorillae | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Psocodea |
Family: | Pthiridae |
Genus: | Pthirus |
Species: | P. gorillae |
Binomial name | |
Pthirus gorillae Ewing, 1927 | |
Pthirus gorillae or gorilla louse is a species of parasitic sucking louse that afflicts gorillas. [1] It is found in the African continent, specifically in Rwanda and Democratic Republic of the Congo. [2] P. gorillae and P. pubis (the crab louse) are the only known species that belong to the genus Pthirus , often incorrectly spelled as Phthirus (the Greek word for louse is phthir). [3] It is suggested that it is transmitted among its hosts by social grooming, shared bedding and sexual contact. [4]
All species of sucking lice feed on blood. [5] They live in close association with their hosts and complete their entire life cycle on the host. [1] Pthirus gorillae infests the same parts of the bodies of gorillas as Pthirus pubis does in humans, [6] but since the gorilla is hairier, the lice tend to range over the whole body. [7] The two also resemble each other with the exception that Pthirus gorillae has large eyes that are placed on large lateral protuberances. A short and broad sucking louse, it is about 2.20 mm long with sprawling legs and not more than 20 small abdominal setae. [4]
It was first identified from specimens of mountain gorillas in 1927 by Henry Ellsworth Ewing during a game-hunting trip in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. [4] Molecular phylogenetics suggest that P. gorillae jumped from gorillas to early humans 3.3 million years ago and diverged into the present-day pubic louse. [1] [8] Researchers theorize that humans acquired the parasite while butchering or scavenging on gorilla carcasses, or sleeping in the abandoned sleeping nests of gorillas. [9] [10]
Several lice of the species were found during a necropsy in the stomach of a female gorilla from Bwindi Impenetrable National Park; she had presumably been grooming before she died. [4]
The conservation status of this species is unknown. Since its host species is critically endangered, it is likely that this species is endangered too.
The chimpanzee, also known as simply the chimp, is a species of great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed one. When its close relative the bonobo was more commonly known as the pygmy chimpanzee, this species was often called the common chimpanzee or the robust chimpanzee. The chimpanzee and the bonobo are the only species in the genus Pan. Evidence from fossils and DNA sequencing shows that Pan is a sister taxon to the human lineage and is humans' closest living relative. The chimpanzee is covered in coarse black hair, but has a bare face, fingers, toes, palms of the hands, and soles of the feet. It is larger and more robust than the bonobo, weighing 40–70 kg (88–154 lb) for males and 27–50 kg (60–110 lb) for females and standing 150 cm.
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.
Sucking lice 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, the sucking lice are monophyletic.
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.
Pubic hair is terminal body hair that is found in the genital area of adolescent and adult humans. The hair is located on and around the sex organs and sometimes at the top of the inside of the thighs. In the pubic region around the pubis bone, it is known as a pubic patch. Pubic hair is also found on the scrotum and base of the penile shaft in the male and on the vulva in the female.
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 may properly refer to lice infestation of any part of the body, the term is sometimes used loosely to refer to pediculosis capitis, the infestation of the human head with the specific head louse.
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.
The mountain gorilla is one of the two subspecies of the eastern gorilla. It is listed as endangered by the IUCN as of 2018.
The Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP) is in southwestern Uganda. The park is part of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest and is situated along the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) border next to the Virunga National Park and on the edge of the Albertine Rift. Composed of 321 square kilometres (124 sq mi) of both montane and lowland forest, it is accessible only on foot. BINP is a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization-designated World Heritage Site.
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.
The body louse is a hematophagic ectoparasite louse that infests humans. It is one of three lice which infest humans, the other two being the head louse, and the crab louse or pubic louse.
Tourism in Uganda is focused on Uganda's landscape and wildlife. It is a major driver of employment, investment and foreign exchange, contributing USh 4.9 trillion to Uganda's GDP in the financial year 2012–2013.
Head lice infestation, also known as pediculosis capitis, is the infection of the head hair and scalp by the head louse. Itching from lice bites is common. During a person's first infection, the itch may not develop for up to six weeks. If a person is infected again, symptoms may begin much more quickly. The itch may cause problems with sleeping. Generally, however, it is not a serious condition. While head lice appear to spread some other diseases in Africa, they do not appear to do so in Europe or North America.
Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka is a Ugandan veterinarian and founder of Conservation Through Public Health, an organisation dedicated to the coexistence of endangered mountain gorillas, other wildlife, humans, and livestock in Africa.
Pediculosis pubis is an infestation by the pubic louse, Pthirus pubis, a wingless insect which feeds on blood and lays its eggs (nits) on mainly pubic hair. Less commonly, hair near the anus, armpit, beard, eyebrows, moustache, and eyelashes may be involved. It is usually acquired during sex, but can be spread via bedding, clothing and towels, and is more common in crowded conditions where there is close contact between people.
Pthirus is a genus of lice. There are only two extant species, and they are the sole known members of the family Pthiridae. Pthirus gorillae infests gorillas, and Pthirus pubis afflicts humans, and is commonly known as the crab louse or pubic louse. The two species diverged some 3.3 million years ago.
The Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is a large primeval forest located in south-western Uganda in the Kanungu District. The Bwindi forest is on the edge of the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift, at elevations ranging from 1,160 to 2,607 metres. The forest contains around 160 species of trees and over 100 species of ferns.
Lemurpediculus robbinsi is an ectoparasite of Crossley's dwarf lemur, Cheirogaleus crossleyi A. Grandidier, in Madagascar. Both sexes of the louse species are distinct from the two previously known species of Lemurpediculus, L. verruculosus (Ward) and L. petterorum Paulian.
Pedicinus is a genus of sucking louse, the only genus in the family Pedicinidae. Species belonging to this genus are found on Old World monkeys and apes of different kinds. Pedicinus, along with its sister genus Pthirus, are believed to have diverged from their common ancestor approximately 22.5-2.5 million years ago.
Of the many characteristics of humans, nakedness and clothing are highly related. The loss of body hair distinguishes humans from other primates. The current evidence indicates that anatomically modern humans were naked in prehistory for at least 90,000 years before the invention of clothing. Today, isolated Indigenous peoples in tropical climates continue to be without clothing in many everyday activities.