Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Ctenocephalides felis
Cat flea
More records should be expected on more islands from domestic and feral cats; the only known specimens to date were captured in pit traps in the Santa Cruz Miconia zone, March 1989; and on dogs on Santiago, and Santa Cruz; February and March.
Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Insecta
Order
Siphonaptera
Family
Pulicidae
Genus
Ctenocephalides
Species
felis
Taxon category: Accepted
Origin: Introduced - established
Year of first record: 1989
Mode of introduction: Accidental
Introduction Pathway: Contaminant
Subpathway: Parasites/pathogens on animals
Introduced status: Coexists with introduced species
Invasive status: Unlikely to become invasive
Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.
Distribution: Santa Cruz, Santiago
- Causton, C.E. Peck, S. B., Sinclair, B. J., Roque-Albelo, L., Hodgson, C. J. & B. Landry. (2006) Alien insects: threats and implications for the conservation of the Galapagos Islands. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 99(1), 121-143.
- Peck, S.B. (1996) Origin and development of an insect fauna on a remote archipelago: The Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. In: Keast A., Miller S.E. (eds.): The origin and evolution of Pacific Island biotas, New Guinea to eastern Polynesia: patterns and processes. SPB Academic Publishing, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, p. 91-122.
- Peck, S.B. Heraty, J., Landry, B. & Sinclair, B.J. (1998) Introduced insect fauna of an oceanic archipelago: The Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Am. Entomol. 44: 218-237.
- Peck, S.B. (2001) Smaller Orders of Insects of the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador: Evolution, Ecology, and Diversity. NRC Research Press, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 278 pp.
You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.
This page should be cited as follows:
"Galapagos Species Database, Ctenocephalides felis", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=11113. Accessed 1 November 2026.