Uropsylla tasmanica

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Uropsylla tasmanica
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Siphonaptera
Family: Pygiopsyllidae
Genus: Uropsylla
Species:
U. tasmanica
Binomial name
Uropsylla tasmanica
Rothschild, 1905

Uropsylla tasmanica is a species of flea in the insect order Siphonaptera endemic to Australia. [1] [2] [3] It belongs to the subfamily Uropsyllinae that is placed in the family Pygiopsyllidae. [4]

Uropsylla tasmanica occurs in Tasmania, New South Wales, Victoria, southern Western Australia, [1] and southern Queensland. [3] They are known to feed on marsupials, most notably dasyurid such as Tasmanian devils and quolls, and have been suggested to live on the now-extinct Tasmanian tiger. [2] [5]

Its lifecycle is unique among fleas - adults cement eggs to the hairs of host, then, once hatched, the larvae live subcutaneously, consuming subdermal host tissue. [2] [3] [6]

References

  1. 1 2 "Species Uropsylla tasmanica Rothschild, 1905". Australian Faunal Directory. Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Kwak, Mackenzie; Madden, Claire; Wicker, Leanne (2017). "The first record of the native flea Acanthopsylla rothschildi Rainbow, 1905 (Siphonaptera: Pygiopsyllidae) from the endangered Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii Boitard, 1841), with a review of the fleas associated with the Tasmanian devil". Australian Entomologist. 44: 293–296.
  3. 1 2 3 Nelson, L.; Bridger, M.; Turner, S. (2018). "Endoparasitic flea larvae of Uropsylla tasmanica (Siphonaptera: Pygiopsyllidae) infest spotted-tailed quolls in southern Queensland". Memoirs of the Queensland Museum – Nature. 61: 68–69. doi: 10.17082/j.2204-1478.61.2018.2018-07 .
  4. ↑ Biosecurity Sciences Laboratory Qld; Nelson, Leanne; Bridger, M.; Turner, S. (2020-01-20). "Endoparasitic flea larvae of Uropsylla tasmanica (Siphonaptera: Pygiopsyllidae) infest spotted-tailed quolls in southern Queensland". Memoirs of the Queensland Museum - Nature. 61: 68–69. doi: 10.17082/j.2204-1478.61.2018.2018-07 .
  5. ↑ Green, R. H. (1993). "The Fleas of Tasmania" (PDF).
  6. ↑ Pearse, Anne-Marie (1981). "Aspects of the biology of Uropsylla tasmanica Rothschild (Siphonaptera)". Master's Dissertation.


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