Sucking lice have around 500 species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 and represent the smaller of the two traditional suborders of lice. As opposed to the paraphyletic chewing lice, which are now divided among three suborders, the sucking lice are monophyletic.

The Anoplura are all blood-feeding ectoparasites of mammal

Mammal

Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...

s. They can cause localised skin irritations and are vectors of several blood-borne diseases. Children appear particularly susceptible to attracting lice, possibly due to their fine hair.

At least three species of Anoplura are parasites of humans; the human condition of being infested with sucking lice is called pediculosis

Pediculosis

Pediculosis is an infestation of lice — blood-feeding ectoparasitic insects of the order Phthiraptera. The condition can occur in almost any species of warm-blooded animal , including humans...

. Pediculus humanus is divided into two subspecies, Pediculus humanus humanus, or the body louse

Body louse

The body louse is a louse which infests humans. The condition of being infested with head lice, body lice, or pubic lice is known as pediculosis.-Origins:...

, sometimes nicknamed "the seam squirrel" for its habit of laying of eggs in the seams of clothing, and Pediculus humanus capitis, or the head louse

Head louse

The head louse is an obligate ectoparasite of humans. Head lice are wingless insects spending their entire life on human scalp and feeding exclusively on human blood...

. Phthirus pubis (the crab louse

Crab louse

Crab lice are parasitic insects notorious for infesting human pubic hair. The species may also live on other areas with hair, including the eyelashes. They feed exclusively on blood...

) is the cause of the condition known as crabs

Pediculosis pubis

Pediculosis pubis is a disease caused by the crab louse Phthirus pubis, a parasitic insect notorious for infesting human pubic hair. The species may also live on other areas with hair, including the eyelashes causing pediculosis ciliaris. Infestation usually lead to intense itching in the pubic area...

.

Families

The following 15 families

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 are generally recognized in the Amblycera:

• Echinophthiriidae – seal lice
• Enderleinellidae
• Haematopinidae
  Haematopinidae
  These sucking lice are members of a larger Suborder Anoplura which also includes the species of lice most commonly infesting humans. The Haematopinidae are identified by the presence of ocular points , and the tarsi being 1-clawed....
  
   – ungulate lice
• Hamophthiriidae
• Hoplopleuridae – armoured lice
• Hybothiridae
• Linognathidae – pale lice
• Microthoraciidae
• Neolinognathidae
• Pecaroecidae
• Pedicinidae
• Pediculidae – body lice
• Phthiridae – pubic lice
• Polyplacidae – spiny rat lice
• Ratemiidae

External links

• Solenopotes capillatus, little blue cattle louse on the UF
  University of Florida
  The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
  
   / IFAS
  Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences
  The University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is a federal-state-county partnership dedicated to developing knowledge in agriculture, human and natural resources, and the life sciences, and enhancing and sustaining the quality of human life by making that information...
  
  Featured Creatures Web site
• VectorBase homepage for Pediculus humanus (genome browser, downloads and more)