Pulicidae
| Pulicidae | ||||||||||||
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Cat flea ( Ctenocephalides felis ) under the microscope |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Pulicidae | ||||||||||||
| ( Billberg , 1820) |
The Pulicidae are a family of fleas , which also includes the human flea ( Pulex irritans ). They are blood-sucking parasites, especially in mammals. They damage the host by withdrawing blood; some representatives also play a role as carriers of disease and as triggers of allergies .
features
Pulicidae are one to eight millimeters in size.
The mid- breast ( mesonotum ) has no pseudo-bristles under the bristle comb . The rear breast ( Metanotum ) and the abdominal back plates ( Terga ) II to VII do not have radial spines and each have a maximum of one row of bristles. The air openings ( spiracula ) are arranged in a ring. The sensillum has six to 14 pores on each side. The hip of the middle leg ( mesocoxa ) lacks the outer inner ridge . The rear leg splint does not have an external apical tooth.
Systematics
The family includes about 160 species. It is divided into four subfamilies:
The Pulicidae, along with the Hystrichopsyllidae, are the phylogenetically oldest flea families. They already appeared in the Lower Cretaceous or in the Upper Jurassic . The Pulicidae are most closely related to the Tungidae and are placed with these in the superfamily Pulicoidea .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Ross H. Arnett, Jr .: American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico . CRC Press, 2nd Edition 2000, ISBN 9780849302121 , p. 927.
- ↑ a b Cedric Gillott: Entomology . Springer Science & Business Media, 2005, ISBN 9781402031830 , p. 266.
- ↑ Boris R. Krasnov: Functional and Evolutionary Ecology of Fleas: A Model for Ecological Parasitology . Cambridge University Press, 2008, ISBN 9781139472661 , p. 33