Name
Greek: xenos = foreign, psylla = flea, cheops = Egyptian pharaoh.
General Information
Tropical rat flea (described by Rothschildt), vector of the agent of the plague (Yersinia pestis). This flea, which has no ctenidia at the head or notum, reaches a length of 1.5–2 mm and is now found worldwide (Figs. 1 and 2). Other Xenopsylla spp. are X. braziliensis (African rat flea, first described in Brazil, but important in Africa and India) and X. asiatica (syn. X. astia) found in Sri Lanka. General development see Fleas.
LM of an adult female of Xenopsylla cheopis
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© 2016 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Mehlhorn, H. (2016). Xenopsylla cheopis . In: Mehlhorn, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Parasitology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-43978-4_3437
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-43978-4_3437
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Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
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