Trichodectera

Trichodectera is a parvorder of lice from the infraorder Phthiraptera that are parasites of mammals. It contains the large family Trichodectidae, plus a few minor families.

Trichodectera
Felicola sp. with egg
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Psocodea
Infraorder:	Phthiraptera
Parvorder:	Trichodectera
Families
Trichodectoidea (superfamily) Bovicolidae Dasyonygidae Trichodectidae

Trichodectidae was previously classified as belonging to Ischnocera, but phylogenetic studies had found that group to be paraphyletic. In 2021, de Moya et al. proposed that Trichodectidae be split off from Ischnocera and to be put into a newly created grouping called Trichodectera.^[1]

Below is a cladogram showing the position of Trichodectera within Phthiraptera:^[1]

Phthiraptera	Ischnocera Philopteridae Anoplura Rhynchophthirina Trichodectera Trichodectidae Amblycera