Kingdom Animalia Family Ceratophyllidae Scientific name Dasypsyllus gallinulae Rank Species | Class Insecta Genus Dasypsyllus Phylum Arthropoda Order Flea | |
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Similar Flea, Nosopsyllus fasciatus, Ceratophyllus gallinae, Ceratophyllus, Spilopsyllus cuniculi | ||
The moorhen flea (Dasypsyllus gallinulae) is a flea originating from South America. It is now a globally widespread. It is a large flea, easily identified because the male has two heavy horn-like spines on one of the genital flaps, and the female has a deep "bite" on the seventh sternite.
It is found in bird nests, and is more likely to be found on the bird's body than, say, the chicken flea, which is normally found in the nest. The moorhen flea's many hosts include the common moorhen, Eurasian woodcock, grouse, European robin, goldcrest, willow tit, and Eurasian treecreeper.
References
Moorhen flea Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA