ENY 3005 Family Identification
Order Siphonaptera
Pronunciation: si-phon-NAP-ter-ra
Common name: fleas
Identifying characteristics for the order Siphonaptera include:
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Small (<5 mm), wingless insects.
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Body hard, laterally compressed, and bristly.
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Legs long with large coxae and 5-segmented tarsi.
Additional information:
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Small insects generally living as ectoparasites of mammals and birds.
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Fleas transmit various pathogens, including tapeworm and bubonic plague.
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Bubonic plague was a major factor stopping Napoleon's invasion of Palestine
and Syria in 1799.
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About 1,100 species of Siphonaptera in the world, 238 in North America.
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Borror and White distinguish 7 families of fleas based on characters of
the head, abdomen, and various bristles. Many characters are visible only
on specimens mounted on microscope slides.
ENY 3005 ID List. Learn taxa displayed in bold
Order Siphonaptera -- fleas
Pulicidae -- common fleas
Ischnopsyllidae -- bat fleas
Tungidae -- sticktight and chigoe fleas
Dolichopsyllidae --rodent fleas
Hystrichopsyllidae -- rat and mouse fleas
Malacopsyllidae -- malacopsyllid fleas
Vermipsyllidae -- carnivore fleas
References:
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Pages 308-311 in D. J. Borror and R. E. White. 1970. A Field Guide to the
Insects. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
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Pages 355-360 in R. G. Bland and H. E. Jaques. 1978. How to Know the Insects,
3rd ed. Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C. Brown Co. 409 p.
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Pages 489-498 in D. J. Borror, C. A. Triplehorn, and N. F. Johnson. 1989.
An Introduction to the Study of Insects, 6th ed. Philadelphia: Saunders
College Publishing. 875 p.
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Page 524 in H. V. Daly, J. T. Doyen, and A. H. Purcell III. 1998. Introduction
to Insect Biology and Diversity, 2nd ed. Oxford University Press. 680 p.
Links to other web sites
Return to ENY 3005 Index to Orders
Prepared by John L. Foltz,
University of Florida, Dept of Entomology & Nematology, 3 November 1998.
Modified 24 June 2004.