Due to the fact that Friday is a holiday, the answer to last week’s lice mystery is being revealed early. Last week I shared these mystery lice from Turkey with you.  They are Eulinognathus hesperius (Johnson, 1957) (Anoplura: Polyplacidae)!

This species of polyplacid is distinguished by its square rather than rhombus-shaped sternal plate and many long seta on the abdomen, as one can see on our specimens (Johnson 1957).

The jerboa is a desert mammal with huge ears and a long tail that can be found in Africa and the Middle East as well as in parts of China and Mongolia (Hooper and Hilali 1972). With this huge habitat range, these mammals are able to survive in a large range of temperatures. In studying the body temperature of jerboas in regards to a variety of thermal environments, Hill et al 1974 found that though Allactaga have large pinnae, they are not a major source of heat loss for the animal.

Stay tuned for the new year and new mystery lice that it brings. Happy holidays!