Meaning of mallophagan | Babel Free

Definitions

A chewing louse, any louse of the now obsolete suborder Mallophaga, any true louse that is not a sucking louse.

Examples

“As a rule, mallophagans are host-specific, each species being restricted and adapted to a single bird species or groups of closely related bird species.”

“Most are associated with birds (although at least one hundred species deign to dine on mammalian body tissues); the majority of mallophagans on birds (and hence the majority of mallophagans in general) have a pair of well-developed claws on the tips of their tarsi.”

“While these mouthparts are not primarily designed to pierce skin some mallophagans do feed on blood. Menacanthus stramineus, a present-day mallophagan, feeds at the base of feathers or on the skin of the chicken.”

CEFR level