Overview
A large family with a holarctic distribution on birds and mammals. The genus
Ceratophyllus
is mainly holarctic with 63 species and subspecies, mostly bird-fleas. Only
C
.
gallinae
occurs in Australia, and it is thought to have been introduced with domestic poultry.
Nosopsyllus
has 61 species and subspecies in the Palaearctic, Ethiopian and Oriental regions; 2 species, now cosmopolitan on commensal rats and mice, occur in Australia.