Abstract
A fine-Toothed comb found in the Judean Desert and resembling an ancient louse comb was examined. Based on radiocarbon dating, it ranged between 1660 AD and 1950 AD. From the material accumulated between the teeth, an oribatid mite, a pseudoscorpion, exuviae of beetle larvae, a sucking louse (Polyplax brachyrrhyncha Cummings, 1915), as well as a fully engorged larva and a nymph of the ixodid tick Rhipicephalus turanicus Pomerantzev, 1936 were recorded. Additionally, the comb included numerous hairs of a spiny mouse (Acomys sp.). Although finding mites, beetle larvae, and a pseudoscorpion on a louse comb could be regarded as contamination, the findings of P. brachyrrhyncha, as well as of a larva and nymph of R.Turanicus, are noteworthy. We hypothesize that the presence of animal lice and ticks could indicate some sort of pet grooming.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1021-1024 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Journal of Medical Entomology |
Volume | 57 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 4 Jul 2020 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2020 The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: [email protected].
Keywords
- Acomys sp
- Polyplax brachyrrhyncha
- Rhipicephalus turanicus
- louse comb
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Medicine