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.
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.
Troctomorpha is one of the three major suborders of Psocodea (barklice, booklice, and parasitic lice), alongside Psocomorpha and Trogiomorpha. There are more than 30 families and 5,800 described species in Troctomorpha. The order includes parasitic lice, which are most closely related to the booklice family Liposcelididae.
Paraneoptera or Acercaria is a superorder of insects which includes lice, thrips, and hemipterans, the true bugs. It also includes the extinct order Permopsocida, known from fossils dating from the Early Permian to the mid-Cretaceous.
Campanulotes elegans is a species of lice in the disputed, probably paraphyletic, family Philopteridae, the chewing lice, or in the family Goniodidae.
Strigiphilus is a genus of chewing louse in the suborder Ischnocera. It was circumscribed in 1910 by Eric Mjöberg.
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.
Rallicola is a genus of chewing louse. It is an ectoparasite of rails and other birds. It was named by Thomas Harvey Johnston and Launcelot Harrison in 1911. There are two subgenera aside from the nominotypical subgenus: Aptericola, whose species are found on kiwi birds, and Huiacola, a monospecific subgenus consisting of Rallicola extinctus, once found on the huia.
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.
Geomydoecus is a genus of louse in the suborder Ischnocera. They are parasites of gophers (Geomyidae). Species include:
Felicola is a genus of parasitic lice in the family Trichodectidae. There are at least 50 described species in Felicola.
Psocinae is a subfamily of common barklice in the family Psocidae. There are about 11 genera and at least 40 described species in Psocinae.
Boopiidae is a family of lice in the order Psocodea. There are about 8 genera and more than 50 described species in Boopiidae.
Enderleinellidae is a family of parasitic lice in the order Psocodea. There are about 5 genera and more than 50 described species in Enderleinellidae.
Gyropidae is a family of lice in the order Psocodea. There are about 9 genera and more than 90 described species in Gyropidae.
Hoplopleuridae is a family of lice in the order Psocodea. There are about 6 genera and more than 150 described species in Hoplopleuridae.
Linognathidae is a family of lice in the order Psocodea. There are at least 3 genera and 70 described species in Linognathidae.
Paracaeciliidae is a family of bark lice in the order Psocodea. There are about 5 genera and more than 100 described species in Paracaeciliidae.
Damalinia is a genus of lice belonging to the family Trichodectidae.
Bovicola is a genus of lice belonging to the family Trichodectidae.
