Crab louse: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Crab louse Pthirus pubis

Where the crab louse lives, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Recorded in (GBIF)Representative wild record

Pin and shaded countries are approximate. The pin is a representative wild sighting (a central record among 10 open-licence GBIF records), not an official range. Method · Records on GBIF · See grasshoppers, bugs & other insects on the world map

Scientific name	Pthirus pubis
Group	Grasshoppers, bugs & other insects
Class	Insect
Order	Psocodea
Family	Pthiridae

What kind of animal is the crab louse?

The crab louse (Pthirus pubis) is an insect in the order Psocodea and the family Pthiridae, genus Pthirus. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the crab louse

The crab louse or pubic louse (Pthirus pubis) is an insect that is an obligate ectoparasite of humans, feeding exclusively on blood. The crab louse usually is found in the person's pubic hair. Although the louse cannot jump, it can also live in other areas of the body that are covered with coarse hair, such as the perianal area, the general body hair, and the eyelashes (in children).

Humans are the only known hosts of the crab louse, although a closely related species, Pthirus gorillae, infects gorillas. The human parasite is thought to have diverged from Pthirus gorillae approximately 3.3 million years ago. It is more distantly related to the genus Pediculus, which contains the human head and body lice and lice that affect chimpanzees and bonobos.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Crab louse (revision 1337571889), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q381271 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).