University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Studies of Phthiraptera (Insecta: Psocodea): From phylogeny to fossil

Clodfelter, Ember B.

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/125552

Description

Title
Studies of Phthiraptera (Insecta: Psocodea): From phylogeny to fossil
Author(s)
Clodfelter, Ember B.
Issue Date
2024-07-01
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Johnson, Kevin P.
Department of Study
Entomology
Discipline
Entomology
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
M.S.
Degree Level
Thesis
Keyword(s)
  • Lice
  • Phthiraptera
  • Wolbachia
  • Penenirmus
  • Phylogenomics
  • Endosymbiont
  • Coevolution
  • Fossil
  • Green River Formation
Language
eng
Abstract
Parasitic lice (Psocodea: Phthiraptera) are a group of obligate ectoparasites of birds and mammals that feed on the feathers, blood, and skin secretions of their hosts. Lice can be host specific, even specific to single genera or species of hosts. Understanding the coevolutionary history of lice is an important step in understanding their diversification. The work here encompasses two major aspects of louse evolutionary history. First, because lice spend their whole lives on their hosts and subsist on often specialized diets, many lice often have endosymbiotic bacteria to help supplement their nutritionally limited diets. Phylogenies of lice, their hosts, and their endosymbionts can be used to study coevolutionary relationships. Phylogenies can also hint at the duration and type of relationship between louse and their endosymbionts. The first chapter focuses on the phylogenomics of the bacterial genus Wolbachia, an atypical bacterial endosymbiont of insects and nematodes, in the monophyletic feather louse genus Penenirmus (Ischnocera). The second chapter explores the diversity of lice in deep time. Phylogenetic insights can be made using fossils to date specific nodes, however the fossil record for parasitic lice is incredibly limited. There have only been two fossils of lice described so far, one compression fossil and two individuals from Burmese amber. This work describes a new louse fossil from the Eocene.
Graduation Semester
2024-08
Type of Resource
Thesis
Handle URL
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/125552
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2024 Ember B. Clodfelter

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