The hedgehog flea (''Archaeopsylla erinacei'') is a

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 f ...

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

which, as indicated by its

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often con ...

, is an external

parasite Parasitism is a Symbiosis, close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the Host (biology), host, causing it some harm, and is Adaptation, adapted str ...

specifically adapted to living with the

European hedgehog The European hedgehog (''Erinaceus europaeus''), also known as the West European hedgehog or common hedgehog, is a hedgehog species native to Europe from Iberia and Italy northwards into Scandinavia and westwards into the British Isles.Harris, S. ...

and the

North African hedgehog The North African hedgehog (''Atelerix algirus'') or Algerian hedgehog, is a mammal species in the family Erinaceidae native to Algeria, Libya, Malta, Morocco, Spain, and Tunisia. Little is known about this hedgehog, even though the most common b ...

, but it has also been found on other animals. It is the only member of the genus ''Archaeopsylla''.

Description

Named in 1835 by

Peter Friedrich Bouché Peter Friedrich Bouché (15 February 1785, in Berlin – 3 April 1856, in Berlin) was a German botany, botanist and entomologist. His collection is in the German Entomological Institute. References

*Anonym 1858: ''Accentuated list of British L ...

, ''A. erinacei'' is a common flea "found on every hedgehog, usually in large numbers". A typical number of fleas on a hedgehog is about a hundred, but up to a thousand have been reported on sick animals. The flea is occasionally found also on dogs and cats, but only temporarily, and has been known to cause allergic

dermatitis Dermatitis is a term used for different types of skin inflammation, typically characterized by itchiness, redness and a rash. In cases of short duration, there may be small blisters, while in long-term cases the skin may become thickened ...

in dogs. It has also been found on foxes. The flea's length is between 2 and 3.5 millimetres, and its food is the blood of the host.

Reproduction

The flea's reproductive cycle is closely connected with that of the host species. The female breeds only in the nest of a breeding hedgehog, and this is probably prompted by host hormones, as in the case of the rabbit flea, ''

Spilopsyllus cuniculi ''Spilopsyllus cuniculi'', the rabbit flea, is a species of flea in the Family (biology), family Pulicidae. It is an external Parasitism, parasite of rabbits and hares and is occasionally found on cats and dogs and also certain seabirds that nest ...

''. The female flea lays eggs in the host's nesting material. Once hatched, larvae feed on faeces, which include dried blood, and on other material in the nest, then pupate, and adult fleas emerge from the pupae after several days, with variations which depend on temperature and other factors. The lifecycle can be repeated in weeks.

Range

The species is most commonly found on hedgehogs in western and northern Europe, including the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

, but it is also established in hedgehog populations in other European countries, including the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, and

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, and in

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

. European hedgehogs are an invasive exotic species in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, but exceptionally the population there is entirely without the hedgehog flea. The fleas probably did not survive the long journey by sea from Europe. The subspecies ''A. e. maura'' is the common stenoxenous flea of the North African hedgehog in the western Mediterranean regions of North Africa, from Morocco to Libya, and on the Mediterranean coast of Spain.K. Jordan and N. C. Rothschild, in ''Novitates Zoologicae'' 18 (1912) (Map 1)

Diseases

''A. erinacei'' is the only flea known to be implicated in the

zoonotic A zoonosis (; plural zoonoses) or zoonotic disease is an infectious disease of humans caused by a pathogen (an infectious agent, such as a virus, bacterium, parasite, fungi, or prion) that can jump from a non-human vertebrate to a human. When h ...

cycle of

Boutonneuse fever Boutonneuse fever (also called Mediterranean spotted fever, ''fièvre boutonneuse'', Kenya tick typhus, Indian tick typhus, Marseilles fever, or Astrakhan fever) is a fever as a result of a rickettsial infection caused by the bacterium '' Ricketts ...

.''Regional Disease Vector Ecology Profile: Central Europe'', p. 106

Subspecies

* ''A. e. erinacei'' Bouché, 1835 * ''A. e. maura'' Jordan &

Rothschild Rothschild () is a name derived from the German ''zum rothen Schild'' (with the old spelling "th"), meaning "to the red shield", in reference to the houses where these family members lived or had lived. At the time, houses were designated by signs ...

, 1912

Taxonomy

* ''

Catalogue of Life The Catalogue of Life (CoL) is an online database that provides an index of known species of animals, plants, fungi, and microorganisms. It was created in 2001 as a partnership between the global Species 2000 and the American Integrated Taxono ...

, Archaeopsylla erinacei'' (Bouché, 1835) * ''

Fauna Europaea Fauna Europaea is a database of the scientific names and distribution of all living multicellular European land and fresh-water animals. It serves as a standard taxonomic source for animal taxonomy within the Pan-European Species directories Infr ...

, Archaeopsylla erinacei''

References

External links

*
Archaeopsylla erinacei
at ''

Encyclopedia of Life The Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) is a free, online encyclopedia intended to document all of the 1.9 million living species known to science. It aggregates content to form "pages" for every known species. Content is compiled from existing trusted ...

'' {{Taxonbar, from=Q10417150, from2=Q10417149 Parasitic arthropods of mammals Pulicidae Insects described in 1835 Insects of Europe Taxa named by Peter Friedrich Bouché