Ricinidae
{{Short description|Family of lice}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| image = Ricinus bombycillae (Denny, 1842).JPG
| image_upright = 0.6
| image_caption = Ricinus bombycillae
| display_parents = 4
| taxon = Ricinidae
| authority =
| subdivision_ranks = Genera
| subdivision =
}}
The Ricinidae are a family of a larger group Amblycera of the chewing lice. All species are relatively large bodied (relative to host size){{cite journal|last1=Harnos|first1=A|last2=Lang|first2=Z|last3=Petrás|first3=D|last4=Bush|first4=SE|last5=Szabo|first5=K |last6=Rozsa|first6=L |title= Size matters for lice on birds: coevolutionary allometry of host and parasite body size |journal=Evolution|volume=71|year=2017|issue=2|pages=421–431|doi= 10.1111/evo.13147|pmid=27925167|s2cid=4701333|doi-access=free}} avian ectoparasites. They typically exhibit low prevalence (proportion of infested hosts){{cite journal|last1=Oniki-Willis|first1=Yoshika|last2=Willis|first2=Edwin O|last3=Lopes|first3=Leonardo E|last4=Rozsa|first4=Lajos|title= Museum-based research on the lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera) infestations of hummingbirds (Aves: Trochilidae) – prevalence, genus richness, and parasite associations |journal=Diversity |volume=15|year=2023|pages=54|doi= 10.3390/d15010054|doi-access=free }} and low intensity (number of parasites per infested hosts).{{cite journal|last1=Sychra|first1=Oldřich|display-authors=etal|title= Multivariate study of lice (Insecta: Psocodea: Phthiraptera) assemblages hosted by hummingbirds (Aves: Trochilidae)|journal=Parasitology |volume=151|year=2024|issue=2 |pages=191–199|doi=10.1017/S0031182023001294|doi-access=free |pmid=38116659 |pmc=10941040}} They feed on host blood which is atypical in chewing lice.{{cite journal|last1=Clay|first1=T| title= Piercing mouth-parts in the biting lice (Mallophaga)|journal=Nature|volume=164 |year=1949|issue=4171|pages=617|doi=10.1038/164617a0|pmid=18229165|bibcode=1949Natur.164..617C|s2cid=4127686|doi-access=free}} Two or three genera are recognized.
The genus Ricinus (65 species) parasitize small or medium-sized Passeriformes.{{cite journal|last1=Valan|first1=Miroslav|last2=Sychra|first2=Oldrich|last3=Literak|first3=Ivan|title=Chewing lice of genus Ricinus (Phthiraptera, Ricinidae) deposited at the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Saint Petersburg, Russia, with description of a new species|journal=Parasite|volume=23|year=2016|pages=7|issn=1776-1042|doi=10.1051/parasite/2016007|url= |pmid=26902646|pmc=4763114 |doi-access=free}}Bernard C. Nelson (1972): A Revision of the New World Species of Ricinus (Mallophaga). Occurring on Passeriformes (Aves), University of California Publications in Entomology Volume 68, University of California Press, Berkeley & Los Angeles, {{ISBN|0-520-09412-3}} [http://www.phthiraptera.info/Publications/1058.pdf PDF] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160208014436/http://www.phthiraptera.info/Publications/1058.pdf |date=2016-02-08 }} {{open access}} (Note that Ricinus is also a valid genus name in plant taxonomy.)
The genus Trochiliphagus (13 species) is very similar to the former one, considered to be identical with that by some authors,G Rheinwald (2007): The position of Trochiliphagus Carriker within the Ricinidae (Insecta: Phthiraptera). Bonner Zoologische Beiträge 55, 37–46. but infest hummingbirds.
The genus Trochiloecetes (30 species) also parasitize hummingbirds, but – unlike the former genera – their infestations are usually restricted to the head and neck of the host.
The latter two genera constitute the most important members of hummingbirds' parasite fauna, although their ecology is poorly understood.
References
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