Strigiphilus


Strigiphilus is a genus of chewing lice in the suborder Ischnocera. It was circumscribed in 1910 by Eric Mjöberg.

Taxonomic history

Mjöberg initially circumscribed Strigiphilus as a subgenus of the genus he referred to as Docophorus.
In a 1966 paper, Theresa Clay recognized 29 species and grouped them into these nine species groups:
  • S. crenulatus group
  • S. cursitans group - largest number of species
  • S. cursor group
  • S. heterocerus group
  • S. ketupae group
  • S. macrogenitalis group
  • S. rostratus group
  • S. siamensis group
  • S. strigis group

Hosts

Strigiphilus is the only genus of the Ischnocera to exclusively parasitize owls.

Species

, about 50 species of Strigiphilus are known, including Strigiphilus garylarsoni.