Abstract
There are approximately 463 species of parasitic lice recorded in Canada, in three suborders: Amblycera, six families; Ischnocera, two families; Anoplura, eight families. At least an additional 361 species may eventually be recorded based on presence of suitable hosts and proximity to known distributions. Approximately 41 species are introduced non-native species. Only about 54% of the expected chewing louse fauna has been recorded, and considerable collecting effort is needed, especially for lice infesting passerine birds, shorebirds, and seabirds. The sucking louse fauna is well known, with approximately 88% of the expected fauna recorded. Investigations into ecology of lice and the nature of relationships with their hosts are badly needed. Barcode Index Numbers are available for only 13 species of parasitic lice in Canada.
Highlights
There are approximately 463 species of parasitic lice recorded in Canada, in three suborders: Amblycera, six families; Ischnocera, two families; Anoplura, eight families
Obligate external parasites of birds and mammals. They were treated as two separate orders, the Mallophaga and the Anoplura. They have been consolidated within the order Phthiraptera, divided into four suborders: Anoplura, Amblycera, Ischnocera and Rhynchophthirina (Palma and Barker 1996)
Spencer (1928, 1939, 1948, 1957) collected intensively in British Columbia, and species lists of chewing lice were compiled for Quebec by Rayner (1932) and Whitehead (1934, 1954) and for Alberta by Brown and Wilk (1944)
Summary
There are approximately 463 species of parasitic lice recorded in Canada, in three suborders: Amblycera, six families; Ischnocera, two families; Anoplura, eight families. They have been consolidated within the order Phthiraptera, divided into four suborders: Anoplura (sucking lice, parasites of mammals), Amblycera, Ischnocera (both chewing lice infesting birds and mammals) and Rhynchophthirina (chewing lice infesting elephants and warthogs, and not known to occur in Canada) (Palma and Barker 1996). Based on the compilation of species by Martin (1979), Galloway and Danks (1990) identified chewing lice as one of two highest priority groups of arthropod ectoparasites that warranted particular investigation, and this situation remains unchanged today.
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