Larvae of the woodrat fleas Anomiopsyllus amphibolus and Atyphlocerus echis echis (Siphonaptera: Hystrichopsyllidae).
The external morphology of Anomiopsyllus amphibolus Wagner, 1936 and Atyphloceras echis echis Jordan and Rothschild, 1915 larvae (Siphonaptera: Hystrichopsyllidae) from woodrat (Neotoma lepida) nests is described. Among known flea larvae, the genus Anomiopsyllus (Anomiopsyllinae, Anomiopsyllini) is as distinctive in larval form as are the adults. Among other distinctive features, only Anomiopsyllus are known to have only two ventrolateral setae. Atyphloceras (Hystrichopsyllinae, Hystrichopsyllini) larvae seem more similar in morphology to those of Typhloceras (Hystrichopsyllini) than to Hystrichopsylla, the other genus placed within the Hystrichopsyllini. Characters used to distinguish flea larvae found in Neotoma nests are discussed.
Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City 84112.
J R
JR
Kucera
D000818:Animals; D003411:Arvicolinae / Q000469:parasitology*; D007814:Larva / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D005423:Siphonaptera / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000648:ultrastructure