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

Clodfelter, Ember B.

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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

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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