Galapagos Species Database

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Osborniella crotophagae (Stafford, 1943)

Piojo, Ani louse

Ectoparasite on smooth-billed ani

Both Osborniella crotophagae and its host have been introduced to the Galápagos Islands by human agency (Castro & Phillips 1996: 114). At present, Crotophaga ani is the only host of this louse species (Price et al. 2003: 134).

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Animalia

Phylum
Arthropoda

Class
Insecta

Order
Psocodea

Suborder
Troctomorpha

Family
Menoponidae

Genus
Osborniella

Species
crotophagae

Taxon category: Accepted

Origin: Introduced - established

Introduction

Year of first record: 1988

Mode of introduction: Accidental

Introduction Pathway: Contaminant

Subpathway: Parasites/pathogens on animals

Introduced status: Coexists with introduced species

Invasive status: Unlikely to become invasive

Distribution

Distribution: Isabela, Pinzón, Santa Cruz

References

  • Palma, R.L. Peck, S.B. (2013) An annotated checklist of parasitic lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera) from the Galápagos Islands Zootaxa 3627 (1): 001–087

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This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Osborniella crotophagae", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=16810. Accessed 2 November 2026.