Polyplax insulsa Ferris, 1923

Kazim, Abdul-Rahman, Houssaini, Jamal, Tappe, Dennis & Heo, Chong-Chin, 2022, An annotated checklist of sucking lice (Phthiraptera: Anoplura) from domestic and wild mammals in Malaysia, with lists of hosts and pathogens, Zootaxa 5214 (3), pp. 301-336 : 318

Polyplax insulsa Ferris, 1923

Polyplax insulsa Ferris, 1923: 231 , figs 151, 152A–C.

Ahaematopinus insulsus ( Ferris, 1923) : Ewing 1929: 198.

Polyplax insulsa Ferris, 1923 ; Ferris 1951: 208.

Polyplax insulsa Ferris, 1923 ; Johnson 1958: 77.

Polyplax insulsa Ferris, 1923 ; Johnson 1964: 84.

Polyplax insulsa Ferris, 1923 ; Durden & Musser 1994: 69.

Type host: “ Epymis sabanus ” = Leopoldamys sabanus (Thomas, 1887) —Long-tailed giant rat.

Malaysian host: Leopoldamys sabanus . Probable host: Sundamys muelleri (Jentink, 1879) .

Malaysian localities: Ulu Gombak Forest Reserve & Bukit Lanjan Forest Reserve (Selangor) Peninsular Malaysia ( Johnson 1964); Kuala Lumpur, Peninsular Malaysia ( Johnson 1964); Terengganu, Peninsular Malaysia ( Johnson 1964).

Geographical distribution: Indonesia (Natuna Islands), Malaysia, People’s Republic of China (Guizhou Province) ( Durden & Musser 1994; Price & Graham 1997).

Remarks: The adult male and female of Polyplax insulsa were described and illustrated by Ferris (1923). Polyplax insulsa mainly infests members of the subfamily Murinae and has a patchy distribution in the Indo-Malayan Region ( Chin 1980; Durden & Musser 1994). A single female of P. insulsa recorded from Sundamys muelleri in Kuala Lumpur may be a straggler ( Johnson 1964).