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Uropsylla Tasmanica
''Uropsylla tasmanica'' is a species of flea in the insect order Flea, Siphonaptera endemic to Australia. It belongs to the subfamily Uropsyllinae that is placed either in the family Lycopsyllidae or Pygiopsyllidae. ''Uropsylla tasmanica'' occurs in Tasmania, New South Wales, Victoria, southern Western Australia, and southern Queensland. 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 Thylacine, Tasmanian tiger. The larvae are endoparasitic, living subcutaneously and consuming subdermal tissue. References Fleas Insects of Australia Endemic fauna of Australia Parasites of marsupials Insects described in 1905 {{Flea-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flea
Flea, the common name for the order (biology), order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by hematophagy, ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult fleas grow to about long, are usually dark in color, and have bodies that are "flattened" sideways or narrow, enabling them to move through their hosts' fur or feathers. They lack wings; their hind legs are extremely well adapted for jumping. Their claws keep them from being dislodged, and their mouthparts are adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood. Some species can leap 50 times their body length, a feat second only to jumps made by another group of insects, the superfamily (taxonomy), superfamily of froghoppers. Flea larvae are worm-like, with no limbs; they have chewing mouthparts and feed on organic debris left on their hosts' skin. Genetic evidence indicates that fleas are a specialised lineage of parasitic scorpionflies (Mecopte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
