Monkey Lice

Lice cling to fur of chimpanzees and gorillas.

Lice belong to the order Phthiraptera. These wingless insects feature short antennae and bear large eggs that cling to hair or fur. Lice spend their life cycle with one host or transmit host-to-host through body contact. Without the ability to jump or fly, lice cannot survive for more than a few hours without their host.

History

According to BioMed Central, lice of primates shared more than 25 million years of co-evolution. Lice evolved mouth parts to feed on their host's blood.

Insecticide

Monkeys sometimes use the giant African millipede as a natural insecticide. Monkeys roll and bite this foot-long millipede to release defensive toxins, such as hydrochloric acid, to repel pests from their skin.

Chimpanzee Lice

Chimpanzee lice belong to the genus Pediculus schaeffi in the form of head lice. Human head lice (Pediculus humanus capitis) and chimpanzee lice shared common ancestry about six million years ago, according to BioMed Central.

Gorilla Lice

Gorilla lice belong to the genus Pthirus gorilla in the form of pubic lice. University of Florida researchers compared DNA of lice taken from primates at Ugandan wildlife sanctuaries with fossil data of gorillas and humans. About 3.3 million years ago, gorilla lice and human pubic hair lice (Pthirus pubis) shared common ancestors.

References

• National Geographic News: Gorilla Game Pubic Lice to Humans, DNA Study Reveals
• Living Rainforest: Monkey Medicine: Giant African Millipede
• BioMed Central Biology: Pair of lice lost or parasites regained, the evolutionary history of anthropoid primate lice
• University of Florida News: Human Public Lice Acquired from Gorillas Gives Evolutionary Clues

Resources

• Current Biology: Molecular Evolution of Pediculus humanus and the Origin of Clothing
• Nuvo for Head Lice: The Pre-History of Head Lice