''Polyplax spinulosa'' is a
sucking louse
Sucking lice (known scientifically as Anoplura) are a parvorder of around 550 species of lice. All sucking lice are blood-feeding ectoparasites of mammals. They can cause localized skin irritations and are vectors of several blood-borne disea ...
(Anoplura) from the genus ''
Polyplax''. It occurs worldwide and commonly infects its
type host
In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes t ...
, the
brown rat
The brown rat (''Rattus norvegicus''), also known as the common rat, street rat, sewer rat, wharf rat, Hanover rat, Norway rat and Norwegian rat, is a widespread species of common rat. One of the largest Muroidea, muroids, it is a brown or grey ...
(''Rattus norvegicus''), and related species like the
black rat
The black rat (''Rattus rattus''), also known as the roof rat, ship rat, or house rat, is a common long-tailed rodent of the stereotypical rat genus ''Rattus'', in the subfamily Murinae. It likely originated in the Indian subcontinent, but is n ...
(''Rattus rattus''), ''
Rattus pyctoris'', ''
Rattus nitidus'', ''
Rattus argentiventer'', ''
Rattus tanezumi
The tanezumi rat (''Rattus tanezumi''), also known as the Asian rat or Asian house rat, yellow-breasted or buff-breasted rat (''Rattus flavipectus''), is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is closely related to the black rat (''Rattus ...
'', ''
Rattus exulans
The Polynesian rat, Pacific rat or little rat (''Rattus exulans''), or , is the third most widespread species of rat in the world behind the brown rat and black rat. Contrary to its vernacular name, the Polynesian rat originated in Southeast Asia ...
'', and ''
Bandicota indica
The greater bandicoot rat or Indian bandicoot rat (''Bandicota indica'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae found in Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
It can g ...
''. It is also occasionally found in other rodents, such as the
marsh rice rat
The marsh rice rat (''Oryzomys palustris'') is a semiaquatic North American rodent in the family Cricetidae. It usually occurs in wetland habitats, such as swamps and salt marshes. It is found mostly in the eastern and southern United States, f ...
(''Oryzomys palustris'') in North America.
[Durden, 1988, p. 900]
References
Literature cited
*Durden, L.A. 1988
The spiny rat louse, ''Polyplax spinulosa'', as a parasite of the rice rat, ''Oryzomys palustris'', in North America(subscription required). The Journal of Parasitology 74(5):900–901.
*Durden, L.A. and Musser, G.G. 1994
The sucking lice (Insecta, Anoplura) of the world: a taxonomic checklist with records of mammalian hosts and geographical distributions Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 218:1–90.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7226766
Polyplacidae
Insects of North America
Insects described in 1839