Two genera of lice parasitize humans: Pthirus and Pediculus. The latter is of significant
public health importance and comprises two ecotypes: the body louse and the head louse …

Insects are the most speciose group of animals, but the phylogenetic relationships of many
major lineages remain unresolved. We inferred the phylogeny of insects from 1478 protein …

Recent decades have brought countless outbreaks of infectious disease among wildlife.
These events appear to be increasing in frequency and magnitude, but to objectively …

Deposits of fossilized tree resins, or amber, occur throughout the world and range in age
from Carboniferous to Holocene, produced by myriads of vascular plants. Small organisms …

For most, the mere mention of lice forces an immediate hand to the head and recollection of
childhood experiences with nits, medicated shampoos, and traumatic haircuts. But for a …

The insect order Psocodea is a diverse lineage comprising both parasitic (Phthiraptera) and
nonparasitic members (Psocoptera). The extreme age and ecological diversity of the group …

The fossil record of parasites is limited thus far. A survey of the fossil record shows that some
modes of preservation show a higher potential for the preservation of parasitic remains or …

Ticks are currently among the most prevalent blood-feeding ectoparasites, but their feeding
habits and hosts in deep time have long remained speculative. Here, we report direct and …

Phthirapteran lice (true lice or parasitic lice) are a major group of ectoparasitic insects living
on their bird or mammal hosts during their entire life cycle. 1 Due to their highly specialized …

A major fraction of the diversity of insects is parasitic, as herbivores, parasitoids or vertebrate
ectopara sites. Understanding this diversity requires information on the origin of parasitism …