Felicola subrostratus

Felicola subrostratus

<p align="CENTER"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b>Felicola subrostratus</b></i></span><span style="font-size: large;"><b> (Burmeister, 1839) Ewing, 1929</b></span></p> <p align="CENTER"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>(Figures 5-40 through 5-43)</b></span></p> &nbsp; <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>ETYMOLOGY:</b></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Feli</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> = cat and </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>cola</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> = tiller along with </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>subrostratus</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> = under beak</span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>SYNONYMS:</b></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Trichodectes</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>subrostratus</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> Burmeister, 1839; </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Felicina</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>subrostratus</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> (Burmeister, 1939) Bedford (1929); </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Bedfordia</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>helogale</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> (Bedford, 1932) Kéler (1939).</span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>HISTORY:</b></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> This louse has long been known to occur on cats. Lyal (1985) divided the genus </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Felicola</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> into two genera </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Felicola</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> (containing the subgenera </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Felicola</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> and </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Suricatoecus</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">) and </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Loriscola</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> (containing the subgenerra </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Loriscola</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> and </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Paradoxuroecus</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">). Timm and Price (1994) felt that the characters seprarating </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Felicola</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> and </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Loriscola</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> were not sufficient for the differentiation of genera, and considered all four subgenera within the single genus </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Felicola</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">. There are 55 species within the genus </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Felicola</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">, and within the four subgenera, </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Felicola</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">, </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Suricatoecus</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">, </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Loriscola</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">, and </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Paradoxuroecus</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> are 18, 11, 13, and 13 species, respectively. Of these 55 species, 48 are from hosts of the families Felidae, Herpestidae, and Viverridae, 5 are from the Canidae, and 1 is from the Lorisidae (Primates).</span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION:</b></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Feliscola</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>subrostratus</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> is within the subgenus </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Feliscola</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">. Interestingly, the other 11 species of </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Felicola</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> reported from the family Felidae, man of which are from the Americas, are in the subgenus </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Loriscola</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">. It is believed that as the domestic cat was transported out of northern Africa where it originated, and taken along with the cat were the </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Felicola</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>subrostratus</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> associated with it. Thus, </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Felicola</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>subrostratus</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> is found throughout the world. Infections with this louse are not common in cats, but are present in the cat population. Infested cats have been observed in Europe (Trotti </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>et al</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">., 1990), Asia (Shanta </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>et al</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">., 1980); Philippines (Eduardo </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>et al</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">., 1977) Australia (Coman </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>et al</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">., 1981), South America (Santa Cruz &amp; Lombardero, 1987)), and North America.</span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>LOCATION IN HOST:</b></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> The lice live on the fur of the cat (Fig 5-40). The eggs or nits are glued by the female to the hair shaft (Fig 5-41).</span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>IDENTIFICATION:</b></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Felicola</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>subrostratus</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> on cats is readily identified by the shape of the head (Figs. 4-42 &amp; 5-43). As described by Ewing (1929) in his designation of the genus: "In this genus the forhead is trangular, the sides converging in a straight line from the bases of the antennae to the borders of the very narrow hair-groove at the apex.” If one is collecting lice from a non-domestic felid, it is highly likely that the species involved is not </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Felicola</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>subrostratus</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">, and reference should be made to the key of Emerson and Price (1983) for </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Felicola</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> spp. from the Americas and to Timm and Price (1994). Pérez-Jiménez </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>et al</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">. review some of the </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Felicola</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> from from European hosts.</span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>LIFE CYCLE:</b></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> The biology of </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Felicola</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>subrostratus</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> is very poorly known. The female glues her operculate eggs to the hair of her feline host. After several hours to days, the eggs hatch giving birth to a nymphal lice that feed and molt in several days. After probably two to three weeks, the adults will again be present, and a couple of days after insemination, the female will again lay eggs. It is not known how long the adults will live. If one observed the live adult lice, they hold onto the hair with their mandibles and are capable of rapid movement along the hair shaft using their legs for propulsion. It is presumed that thier only significant source of food is epidermal debris. Only two Mallophaga are known to ingest blood: </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Tichodectes</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>canis</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> of the dog (Bouvier, 1945) and </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Fulica</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>ameriana</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> a louse of birds (Bartlett and Anderson, 1989).</span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>CLINICAL SIGNS AND PATHOGENESIS: </b></span><span style="font-size: medium;">Few clinical signs have been described in cats with infestations of </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Felicola</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>subrostratus</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">. Debilitated cats can develop large numbers of lice if they loose the ability to groom.</span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>DIAGNOSIS:</b></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> The lice and nits are easily visible on the fur of the cat. For certain identification, the louse can be placed on a microscope slide and the triangular head observed. If only the eggs are present, they will be conspiculously operculate when examined under the microscope.</span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;"> With lice, fleas, and mites in cats, it is not uncommon to find the suticular remains of the arthropod in the feces of the feline host. As cats groom, the ingest the arthropod, adn the cuticle is not digested. Thus, it is often that the infestation with one of these ectoparasites is actually detected by the performance of a fecal flotation, especially when a centrifugal sugar flotation method is used.</span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>TREATMENT:</b></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> Lice on cats are easily treated with most pyrethrin-based powders, sprays, or foams.</span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>EPIZOOTIOLOGY:</b></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> Very little is knwon about the epizootiology of this parasite. It is suspected that the infestation will be more comon in the winter than in the summer, but this may be an unwarranted suppostition.</span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>HAZARDS TO OTHER ANIMALS: </b></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> The species of </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Felicola</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> seem highly host specific (Timm and Price, 1994). Thus, it is expected that the many species on wild Felidae will not be found on the domestic cat. It is possible that Felicola can infest other felines, but how commonly this occurs is not known.</span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>HAZARDS TO HUMANS:</b></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> It does not appear that these lice will bite humans.</span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>CONTROL AND PREVENTION:</b></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> Mainly by prevention of contact with infested cats. It is also important that cats be isolated for a period of time and treated with an ectoparasiticide before they are admitted to a cattery.</span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>REFERENCES:</b></span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;">Bartlett CM, Anderson. 1989. Mallophaga vectors and the avian filaroids: new subspecies of </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Pelecitus</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>fulicaeatrae</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> (Nematoda: Filaroidea) in sympatric North American hosts, with development, epizootiology, and pathogenesis of the parasite in </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Fulica</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>americana</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">. Can J Zool 67:2821-2833.</span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;">Bouvier G. 1945. Die l’hématologie de quelques Mallophages des animaux domestiques. Schweiz Arch Tierheilk 87:429-434.</span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;">Coman BJ, Jones EH, Driesen MA. 1981. Helminth parasites and arthropods of feral cats. Austral Vet J 57:324-327.</span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;">Eduardo SL, Celo EM, Tongson MS, Manuel MF. 1977. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Felicola</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>subrostratus</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> (Nitzsch) (Mallophaga: Trichodectidae) from a native cat - a Philippine record. Philipp J Vet Med16:69-71.</span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;">Emerson KC, Price RD. 1983. A review of the </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Felicola</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>felis</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> complex (Mallophaga: Trichodectidae) found on New World cats (Carnivora: Felidae). Proc Entomol Soc Wash 85:1-9.</span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;">Ewing HE. 1929. </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">A Manual of Exernal Parasites</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;">. CC Thomas, Sprinfield, IL, pp120-123.</span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;">Lyal CHC. 1985. A cladistic analysis and classification of trichodectid mammal lice (Phthiraptera: Ischnocera). Bull Brit Mus (Nat Hist) 51:187-346.</span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;">Santa Cruz AM, Lombardero OJ. 1987. Resultatos parasitologicos de 50 necropsias de gatos de la ciudad de Corrientes. Vet Arg 4:735-739.</span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;">Shanta CS, Wan SP, Kwong KH. 1980. A survey of the endo- and ectoparaties of cats in and around Ipoh, West Malaysia. Malay Vet J 7:17-27.</span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;">Timm RM, Price RD. 1994. A new species of </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Felicola</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"> (Phthiraptera: Trichodectidae) from a Costa Rican jaguar, Panterha onca (Carnivora: Felidae). Proc Biol Soc Wash 107:114-118.</span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;">Trotti GC, Corradini L, Visconti S. 1990. Parasitological investigation in a cattery in Ferrara. Parassitologia 32:42-43.</span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Figure 5-40. </b></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Felicola</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>subrostratus</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">. Tail of a cat that initially appeared to have dandruff.</span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Figure 5-41. </b></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Felicola</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>subrostratus</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">. Eggs glued to hair of an infested cat.</span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Figure 5-42. </b></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Felicola</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>subrostratus</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">. Several adult lice recovered from an infested cat; the triangular shaped head is obvious.</span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Figure 5-43. </b></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Felicola</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>subrostratus</i></span><span style="font-size: medium;">. An adult clinging to the hair of a cat by its chelicerae. The mouthparts and the legs are exquisitely shaped for moving along the hair shaft.</span></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"></p> <p align="JUSTIFY"></p>