Pthirus
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''Pthirus'' is a
genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of
lice Louse (: lice) is the common name for any member of the infraorder Phthiraptera, which contains nearly 5,000 species of wingless parasitic insects. Phthiraptera was previously recognized as an order, until a 2021 genetic study determined th ...
. There are only two
extant Extant or Least-concern species, least concern is the opposite of the word extinct. It may refer to: * Extant hereditary titles * Extant literature, surviving literature, such as ''Beowulf'', the oldest extant manuscript written in English * Exta ...
species, and they are the sole known members of the
family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Pthiridae. '' Pthirus gorillae'' infests
gorilla Gorillas are primarily herbivorous, terrestrial great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or five su ...
s, 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. Since 1958 the generic name ''Pthirus'' has been spelled with ''pth'' rather than ''phth'', despite this being based on a misspelling of the Greek-derived ''phthirus''.


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* Lice Parasitic arthropods of mammals Parasitic infestations, stings, and bites of the skin {{louse-stub