Uropsylla tasmanica is a species of flea in the insect order Siphonaptera endemic to Australia.[1][2][3] It belongs to the subfamily Uropsyllinae that is placed either in the family Lycopsyllidae[4] or Pygiopsyllidae.[1]

Uropsylla tasmanica
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Siphonaptera
Family: Lycopsyllidae
Genus: Uropsylla
Species:
U. tasmanica
Binomial name
Uropsylla tasmanica
Rothschild, 1905

Uropsylla tasmanica occurs in Tasmania, New South Wales, Victoria, southern Western Australia,[1] and southern Queensland.[3] They are known to feed on marsupials, most notably dasyurid such as Tasmanian devils and quolls, and have been suggested to live on the now-extinct Tasmanian tiger.[2][5] The larvae are endoparasitic, living subcutaneously and consuming subdermal tissue.[2][3]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c "Species Uropsylla tasmanica Rothschild, 1905". Australian Faunal Directory. Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Kwak, Mackenzie; Madden, Claire; Wicker, Leanne (2017). "The first record of the native flea Acanthopsylla rothschildi Rainbow, 1905 (Siphonaptera: Pygiopsyllidae) from the endangered Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii Boitard, 1841), with a review of the fleas associated with the Tasmanian devil". Australian Entomologist. 44: 293–296.
  3. ^ a b c Nelson, L.; Bridger, M.; Turner, S. (2018). "Endoparasitic flea larvae of Uropsylla tasmanica (Siphonaptera: Pygiopsyllidae) infest spotted-tailed quolls in southern Queensland". Memoirs of the Queensland Museum – Nature. 61: 68–69. doi:10.17082/j.2204-1478.61.2018.2018-07.
  4. ^ "Uropsylla tasmanica Rothschild, 1905". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  5. ^ Green, R. H. (1993). "The Fleas of Tasmania" (PDF).