Echidna flea

{{Short description|Species of flea}}

{{Speciesbox

| name = Echidna flea

| image =

| image_caption =

| taxon = Bradiopsylla echidnae

| authority = (Denny, 1843)

| parent_authority = Jordan & Rothschild, 1922

| display_parents = 4

}}

The echidna flea (Bradiopsylla echidnae) is the larger of two species of flea commonly found on the short-beaked echidna. It is monotypic, that is, the only species in the genus.{{cite journal | vauthors = Lewis RE | title = Notes on the geographical distribution and host preferences in the order Siphonaptera. 4. Coptopsyllidae, Pygiopsyllidae, Stephanocircidae and Xiphiopsyllidae | journal = Journal of Medical Entomology | volume = 11 | issue = 4 | pages = 403–13 | date = August 1974 | pmid = 4424098 | doi = 10.1093/jmedent/11.4.403 | url = https://academic.oup.com/jme/article/11/4/403/2219076 | url-access = subscription }}{{Cite journal | vauthors = Dunnet GM, Nardon DK |date=1974|title=A Monograph of Australian Fleas (Siphonaptera) |journal=Australian Journal of Zoology |series=Supplementary Series|language=en|volume=22|issue=30|pages=1–273|doi=10.1071/ajzs030}} This flea reaches 4 millimetres in length and has been claimed to be the world's largest flea.{{Cite web |title=Short-beaked Echidna |url=https://dpipwe.tas.gov.au/wildlife-management/fauna-of-tasmania/mammals/echidnas-and-platypus/short-beaked-echidna |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170826072148/https://dpipwe.tas.gov.au/wildlife-management/fauna-of-tasmania/mammals/echidnas-and-platypus/short-beaked-echidna |archive-date=26 August 2017 |access-date=2020-08-12 |website=Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment, Tasmania |publisher=Tasmanian Government}} This statement is in error as the world's largest flea is known to be the mountain beaver flea which can be as large as 12 millimetres in length.{{Cite news | vauthors= Yoon CK |date=2014-07-28|title=The Great Giant Flea Hunt|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/29/science/the-great-giant-flea-hunt.html|access-date=2020-08-12|issn=0362-4331}}

The echidna flea is found on short-beaked Echidnas in southeastern Australia and Tasmania, and although echidnas are distributed more widely throughout Australasia, it has not been recorded in New Guinea where other species of echidna occur (Zaglossus and Tachyglossus).The echidna flea has also been recorded once on a Tasmanian devil.{{Cite journal |vauthors=Kwak ML, Madden C, Wicker L |date=2017 |title=The first record of the native flea Acanthopsylla rothschildi Rainbow, 1905 (Siphonaptera: Pygiopsyllidae) from the endangered Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii Boitard, 1841), with a review of the fleas associated with the Tasmanian devil |url=https://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=320051305337564;res=IELHSS |journal=Australian Entomologist |volume=44 |issue=4 |pages=293–296 }}

The echidna flea has been a subject in several molecular studies as the out-group for phylogenetic trees of cat and dog fleas.{{cite journal | vauthors = Šlapeta Š, Šlapeta J | title = Molecular identity of cat fleas (Ctenocephalides felis) from cats in Georgia, USA carrying Bartonella clarridgeiae, Bartonella henselae and Rickettsia sp. RF2125 | journal = Veterinary Parasitology, Regional Studies and Reports | volume = 3–4 | pages = 36–40 | date = June 2016 | pmid = 31014497 | doi = 10.1016/j.vprsr.2016.06.005 }}{{cite journal | vauthors = Hii SF, Lawrence AL, Cuttell L, Tynas R, Abd Rani PA, Šlapeta J, Traub RJ | title = Evidence for a specific host-endosymbiont relationship between 'Rickettsia sp. genotype RF2125' and Ctenocephalides felis orientis infesting dogs in India | journal = Parasites & Vectors | volume = 8 | issue = 1 | page = 169 | date = March 2015 | pmid = 25884425 | pmc = 4369868 | doi = 10.1186/s13071-015-0781-x | doi-access = free }}

Evidence suggests that the echidna flea, in large infestation quantities, is responsible for a type of anemia and perhaps even a type of lymphoma in the short-beaked echidna.{{Cite journal |last1=Gentz |first1=E.J. |last2=Richard |first2=M.J. |last3=Stuart |first3=L.D. |date=2009 |title=Splenic lymphoma in a short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus) |journal=Australian Veterinary Journal |volume=87 |issue=7 |pages=273–274 |doi=10.1111/j.1751-0813.2009.00445.x|pmid=19573150 }}

The Echidna flea has similar habitat as its the echidna (the species it inhabits). This is because to ensure the best chances of survival the echidna flee must be able to sustain its host's natural habitat. Evaluation of the bacterial microbiome of two flea species using different DNA-isolation techniques provides insights into flea host ecology | fems microbiology ecology | oxford academic. (n.d.). https://academic.oup.com/femsec/article/91/12/fiv134/2467443

The Echidna flea is a part of the Leptosyllidae species. This is a scaled flea species that has approximately 29 Genera, 267 Species, and 147 Subspecies. Leptosyllidea typically impacts birds, rabbits, and other rodents.Bossard, R. L., Lareschi, M., Urdapilleta, M., Cutillas, C., & Zurita, A. (2023, October 21). Flea (Insecta: Siphonaptera) family diversity. MDPI. https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/15/10/1096