Haematomyzus

The genus Haematomyzus includes three species of lice that differ so markedly from all other lice that the genus is placed in its own family Haematomyzidae, itself monotypic within the parvorder Rhynchophthirina (previously ranked as a superfamily).^[7] These unusual lice are ectoparasites of elephants and warthogs. Their mouthparts are elongated to form a drill-like structure that allows them to penetrate the thick skin of their host.

Haematomyzus
Haematomyzus elephantis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Psocodea
Suborder:	Troctomorpha
Infraorder:	Phthiraptera
Parvorder:	Rhynchophthirina Ferris, 1931[1]
Family:	Haematomyzidae Enderlein, 1904[2]
Genus:	Haematomyzus Piaget, 1869[3]
Type species
Haematomyzus elephantis Piaget, 1869
Species
H. elephantis Piaget, 1869[3] H. hopkinsi Clay, 1963[4] H. porci Emerson & Price, 1988[5]
Synonyms[6]
Idolocoris Walker, 1872 Phantasmocoris White, 1872

Taxonomy

The three species, Haematomyzus elephantis (elephant louse), Haematomyzus hopkinsi (warthog louse) and Haematomyzus porci (red river hog louse) belong to a single family, the Haematomyzidae, itself the only family within Rhynchophthirina.^[8][9] Rhychophthirina is a parvorder within the infraorder Phthiraptera.^[10][11] A molecular phylogenetic study using subunit rRNA sequences suggests a placement of the Rhychophthirina as a sister group of the Anoplura.^[12]

Below is a cladogram showing the position of Rhychophthirina within Phthiraptera:^[11]

Phthiraptera	Ischnocera Philopteridae Anoplura Rhynchophthirina Trichodectera Trichodectidae Amblycera

Host records

H. elephantis is known from both the African and Asian Elephant in captivity but the species found in the wild are thought to have coevolved with their hosts and further study is required.^[13]

Notes

The first spelling of "Rhyncophthirina" by Ferris was a lapse, and in subsequent use of the term he spelled it "Rhynchophthirina" adding the second "h". Ordinal names are not covered by the International Code of Nomenclature and thus the name and spelling comes down to a matter of personal preference. The majority of phthirapterists spell the suborder as "Rhynchophthirina" as did Hopkins and Clay, 1952,^[14] and Price et al., 2003.^[7]