Classification of Chelopistes meleagridis
Common name : Large Turkey Louse
Domain- Eukaryota
Kingdom- Animalia
Phylum- Arthropoda
Class- Insecta
Order- Phthiraptera
Family- Philopteridae
Genus-Chelopistes
Species-Chelopistes meleagridis
Common name: There is no information about where the common name comes from, but it can be assumed that the name came from the fact that it is a lice whose host is the turkey, and that it is the largest on it.
Domain: The name Eukaryota describes the membrane bound nucleus that all organisms in this Domain share. "eu" is Greek for good. This is a large domain that any multicellular organism must fall under (Oxford Dictionary of Biology: Sixth Edition).
Kingdom: The Animalia kingdom that Chelopistes meleagridis resides in is described as all multicellular eukaryotic organisms. All organisms that are in this Kingdom are heterotrophic meaning that they must gain sustenance from other organisms. (Oxford Dictionary of Biology: Sixth Edition).
Phylum: The Phylum Arthropoda includes most invertebrate animals with exoskeletal, segmented body plans. Exoskeletal meaning that the main support structure of the organism is the outer shell and segmented meaning that the body is broken into different sections.
Class: C. meleagridis obviously falls in to the class Insecta. They are defined as having bilateral symmetry, a segmented body plan, and contain a head, thorax, and body (Oxford Dictionary of Biology: Sixth Edition).
Order: The Order Phthiraptera contains all lice, both sucking and chewing. They are characterized by being wingless, having mandibles, being segmented, three nymph stages, and flattened heads (Tree of Life Web Project 2012).
Family: The Famliy Philopteridae is a group of chewing lice from the Order Phthiraptera. These louse have a number or hosts. (Tree of Life Web Project 2012).
Genus: This Genus contains many similar species such as Chelopistes texanus or Chelopistes mexicanus. These species are chewing lice that are particular to avian hosts. ( Tree of Life Project 2012).
Species: C. meleagridis gets meleagridis from the host that it is an ectoparasite of. the wild turkey or Meleagris gallopavo (The Animal Diversity Web). It was unclear where the genus name Chelopistes came from.