Polyplax spinulosa (Burmeister) Burmeister
- Dataset
- Ectoparasitic chiggers (Acari: Trombiculidae, Leeuwenhoekiidae), lice (Phthiraptera), and Hemiptera (Cimicidae and Reduviidae) from South Carolina, U. S. A.
- Rank
- SPECIES
Classification
- kingdom
- Animalia
- phylum
- Arthropoda
- class
- Insecta
- order
- Phthiraptera
- family
- Polyplacidae
- genus
- Polyplax
- species
- Polyplax spinulosa
biology_ecology
The spiny rat louse, P. spinulosa, has an almost cosmopolitan distribution along with its hosts Rattus rattus (Linnaeus) and Rattus norvegicus (Berkenhout). Kim et al. (1986) reported a collection of P. spinulosa from rats in South Carolina. Polyplax spinulosa is an enzootic vector of Rickettsia typhi (Wolbach & Todd) and Haemobartonella muris (Mayer) in Rattus spp. populations (Durden 2002; Roberts & Janovy 2000). Pratt & Good (1954) reported P. spinulosa from 17 unspecified localities throughout South Carolina.
materials_examined
Richland Co., Columbia, 4 October 2002, ex sticky trap, coll. Orkin Pest Control.