Pthirus pubis
Translingual
Etymology
The scientific name of the crab louse or pubic louse, Pthirus pubis, is spelled with pth although this is in fact a misspelling that was nevertheless fixed as the official spelling in 1950.[1] The correct spelling would be Phthirus, from Ancient Greek φθείρ (phtheír, “louse”), from φθείρω (phtheírō, “destroy”), and this spelling is used in the scientific name Phthiraptera of the order commonly called lice, to which Pthirus pubis belongs along with more than 5,000 other species.
Proper noun
- A taxonomic species within the family Pthiridae – the crab louse or pubic louse, exclusively a parasite of humans.
Coordinate terms
- (species): Pthirus gorillae
See also
- Pediculus humanus corporis (body louse)
- Pediculus humanus capitis (head louse)
- pediculosis pubis
References
- Pthirus pubis on Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
- Pthirus pubis at National Center for Biotechnology Information
- Pthirus pubis at Encyclopedia of Life
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.