Echinophthiriidae
Seal lice
Emilie Bess and Kevin P. Johnson
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close boxIntroduction
Echinophthiriidae are medium-to-large lice and are parasites of aquatic carnivores in the Pinnipedia (seals, walruses, and sea lions) and Mustelidae (river otters).
The five genera in the family Echinophthiriidae contain a total of ten species.
Characteristics
- Medium to large Anoplura.
- Body usually beset with distinct spiniform, scale and/or peg-like setae.
- Posterior margin of head rimmed by long setae.
- Thorax with mesothoracic phragmata connected across the dorsum, usually enclosing a notal pit.
- Sternal plate absent. Meso- and metathoracic legs well developed and of similar size bearing a distinct, blunt pretarsal claw.
- Tibial thumb elaborate.
- Abdomen membranous bearing six small spiracles of similar size with a distinct tubular atrium.
- Male external genitalia large and well developed with a distinct basal apodeme and parameres.
- Male and female subgenital plate weakly developed.
Host Associations
Echinophthiriidae species are parasites on river otters, seals, walruses, and sea lions.
Walrus (Odobennus rosmarus), host of Antarctophthirus trichechi.
© 2003 Jon B. Hlidberg
River otter (Lontra canadensis), host of Latagophthirus rauschi.
© 2005 Dmitry Azovtsev
Harbor seal (Phoca vitulina), host of Echinophthirius horridus.
© 2003 Jon B. Hlidberg
References
Durden, L. A. and G. G. Musser. 1994. The mammalian hosts of the sucking lice (Anoplura) of the world: a host-parasite list. Bulletin of the Society for Vector Ecology 19: 130-168.
Price, M. A. and O. H. Graham. 1997. Chewing and sucking lice as parasites of mammals and birds. US Department of Agriculture Technical Service Bulletin No. 1849, 309 pp.
Title Illustrations
| Scientific Name | Antarctophthirus trichechi |
|---|---|
| Comments | LouseBase accession number: GLA.M12 |
| Specimen Condition | Dead Specimen |
| Identified By | V. S. Smith |
| Sex | Female |
| Life Cycle Stage | adult |
| Body Part | head, thorax |
| View | dorsal |
| Collection | Specimens from the collection of V. Smith |
| Copyright |
©
|
| Scientific Name | Echinophthirius horridus |
|---|---|
| Specimen Condition | Dead Specimen |
| Identified By | V. S. Smith |
| Life Cycle Stage | nymph, 2nd stage |
| Copyright | © British Museum of Natural History, London |
| Scientific Name | Lepidophthirus macrorhini |
|---|---|
| Specimen Condition | Dead Specimen |
| Sex | Female |
| Copyright | © The Pacific Coast Entomological Society, San Francisco |
About This Page
Emilie Bess
Illinois Natural History Survey, Champaign, Illinois, USA
Kevin P. Johnson
Illinois Natural History Survey, Champaign, Illinois, USA
Correspondence regarding this page should be directed to Emilie Bess at and Kevin P. Johnson at
Page copyright © 2006 Emilie Bess and Kevin P. Johnson
All Rights Reserved.
- First online 11 October 2006
- Content changed 11 October 2006
Citing this page:
Bess, Emilie and Kevin P. Johnson. 2006. Echinophthiriidae . Seal lice. Version 11 October 2006 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Echinophthiriidae/13661/2006.10.11 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/
