Molecular identification of Scopoli, 1763 (Phthiraptera, Philopteridae) infecting the domestic pigeon from Saudi Arabia.

The taxonomy of the order Phthiraptera is unstable and still problematic to researchers. Most of the current taxon classifications are mainly based on morphological features. belongs to the chewing lice of the Philopteridae family that mostly parasitic on birds. There is a lack of sequence data and phylogenetic analyses on the family Philopteridae. In the current study, was collected from the domestic pigeon and identified morphologically and molecularly based on the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 gene (). The infection rate of the genus was approximately 58.82% in this study. Phylogenetic analysis based on the mt gene was informative for members of Philopteridae and the group taxon genera formed distinct clades. Future studies were recommended using the to enhance the tree topology and obtain clear differentiation between genera.