Louse

Infraorder of insects

Louse (pl.: lice) is the common name for any member of the infraorder Phthiraptera, which contains nearly 5,000 species of wingless parasitic insects. Phthiraptera was previously recognized as an order, until a 2021 genetic study determined that they are a highly modified lineage of the order Psocodea, whose members are commonly known as booklice, barklice or barkflies. Lice are obligate parasites, living externally on warm-blooded hosts, which include most species of bird and mammal, notably excluding monotremes, pangolins, bats, sirenians, tapirs, rhinoceroses, and members of the clade and suborder Whippomorpha (Cetaceans and Hippopotamids).

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