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Pediculus humanus  Linnaeus, 1758
Taxonomic Serial No.: 186074

(Download Help) Pediculus humanus TSN 186074

 Taxonomy and Nomenclature
       
  Kingdom: Animalia  
  Taxonomic Rank: Species  
  Synonym(s): Pediculus humanus humanus Linnaeus, 1758
  
    Pediculus humanus capitis De Geer, 1778
  
  Common Name(s): body louse [English]
  
    head louse [English]
  
       
  Taxonomic Status:    
  Current Standing: valid  
       
  Data Quality Indicators:    
  Record Credibility Rating: verified - standards met  
       

 Taxonomic Hierarchy
       
 KingdomAnimalia  – Animal, animaux, animals  
    SubkingdomBilateria  – triploblasts  
       InfrakingdomProtostomia   
          SuperphylumEcdysozoa   
             PhylumArthropoda  – Artrópode, arthropodes, arthropods  
                SubphylumHexapoda  – hexapods  
                   ClassInsecta  – insects, hexapoda, inseto, insectes  
                      SubclassPterygota  – insects ailés, winged insects  
                         InfraclassNeoptera  – modern, wing-folding insects  
                            SuperorderParaneoptera   
                               OrderPsocodea   
                                  SuborderAnoplura Leach, 1815 – sucking lice  
                                     FamilyPediculidae Leach, 1817  
                                        GenusPediculus Linnaeus, 1758  
                                           SpeciesPediculus humanus Linnaeus, 1758 – body louse, head louse  
       

 References
       
  Expert(s):    
  Expert: Lance A. Durden  
  Notes: Associate Professor and Associate Curator, Institute of Arthropodology & Parasitology, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, Georgia 30460, USA   
  Reference for: Pediculus humanus    
       
  Expert: Vincent S. Smith  
  Notes: Wellcome Trust Junior Research Fellow, Graham Kerr Building, DEEB, IBLS, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ. UK   
  Reference for: Pediculus humanus    
       
  Other Source(s):    
  Source: Mammal LouseBASE, database (version 05-Feb-03)  
  Acquired: 2003   
  Notes: http://r4-page.zoology.gla.ac.uk/MammalLouseBase/   
  Reference for: Pediculus humanus   
       
  Source: NODC Taxonomic Code, database (version 8.0)  
  Acquired: 1996   
  Notes:    
  Reference for: Pediculus humanus   
       
  Publication(s):    
  Author(s)/Editor(s): Durden, Lance A., and Guy G. Musser  
  Publication Date: 1994   
  Article/Chapter Title: The sucking lice (Insecta, Anoplura) of the world: a taxonomic checklist with records of mammalian hosts and geographical distributions   
  Journal/Book Name, Vol. No.: Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, no. 218   
  Page(s): 90   
  Publisher:    
  Publication Place:    
  ISBN/ISSN: 0003-0090   
  Notes:    
  Reference for: Pediculus humanus   
       
  Author(s)/Editor(s): Leo, N. P., N. J. H. Campbell, X. Yang, K. Mumcuoglu, and S. C. Barker  
  Publication Date: 2002   
  Article/Chapter Title: Evidence from Mitochondrial DNA That Head Lice and Body Lice of Humans (Phthiraptera: Pediculidae) are Conspecific   
  Journal/Book Name, Vol. No.: Journal of Medical Entomology, vol. 49, no. 4   
  Page(s): 662-666   
  Publisher:    
  Publication Place:    
  ISBN/ISSN: 0022-2585   
  Notes:    
  Reference for: Pediculus humanus   
       

 Geographic Information
       
  Geographic Division: Africa  
    Antarctica/Southern Ocean  
    Australia  
    Caribbean  
    Europe & Northern Asia (excluding China)  
    Middle America  
    North America  
    Oceania  
    South America  
    Southern Asia  
       
  Jurisdiction/Origin:    
 

 

    

 Comments
       
  Comment: Distribution: Cosmopolitan.  
    Type locality: Sweden.  
    Original description/citation, per Durden & Musser (1994): 'Linnaeus, 1758. Systema Naturae, Edition X, p. 610.'  
    Vince S. Smith (personal communication, April 2004) notes that while there is ongoing controversy surrounding the status of human head and body lice (Pediculus humanus capitis De Geer 1778 & Pediculus humanus humanus Linnaeus 1758, respectively), there is a lot of evidence to say that they are not genetically separable. He suggests that they be treated as a single undivided species, rather than as two distinct species or subspecies  
 

 

    

 
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