| Human flea | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Siphonaptera |
| Family: | Pulicidae |
| Subfamily: | Pulicinae |
| Genus: | Pulex |
| Species: | P. irritans |
| Binomial name | |
| Pulex irritans Linnaeus, 1758 |
|
The human flea, Pulex irritans, is a cosmopolitan flea species that has, in spite of the common name, a wide host spectrum. It is one of six species in the genus Pulex; the other five are all confined to the Nearctic and Neotropical regions.[1] The species is thought to have originated in South America, where its original host may have been the guinea pig or peccary.[2]
This species bites many species of mammals and birds, including domesticated ones. It has been found on dogs and wild canids, monkeys in captivity, opossums, domestic cats, wild felids in captivity, chickens, black rats and Norwegian rats, wild rodents, pigs, free-tailed bats, and other species. It can also be an intermediate host for the cestode, Dipylidium caninum.