{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T01:20:01Z","timestamp":1760059201106,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":27,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,29]],"date-time":"2025-05-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1748476800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Agencia Nacional de Promoci\u00f3n de la Investigaci\u00f3n, Desarrollo Tecnol\u00f3gico y la Innovaci\u00f3n","award":["PICT 2020-0400","2021","2021","2023","2022"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PICT 2020-0400","2021","2021","2023","2022"]}]},{"name":"Lerner-Grey Fund for Marine Research","award":["PICT 2020-0400","2021","2021","2023","2022"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PICT 2020-0400","2021","2021","2023","2022"]}]},{"name":"PEPS INEE \u201cApnea\u201d (CNRS, France)","award":["PICT 2020-0400","2021","2021","2023","2022"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PICT 2020-0400","2021","2021","2023","2022"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100003231","name":"PADI Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["PICT 2020-0400","2021","2021","2023","2022"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PICT 2020-0400","2021","2021","2023","2022"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100003231","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"PIBBA-CONICET","award":["PICT 2020-0400","2021","2021","2023","2022"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PICT 2020-0400","2021","2021","2023","2022"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Insects"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Seal lice (Anoplura) parasitize amphibious hosts, such as pinnipeds, and are uniquely adapted to an oceanic environment. As obligate, permanent ectoparasites feed on the blood of their hosts and are completely dependent on them. While studies have begun to explore general diving adaptations, research into seal lice\u2019s sensory biology remains limited. In contrast to the vast majority of insects, including human lice, seal lice are devoid of eyes and depend on antennal sensory reception. This study aims to describe the morphology and putative function of antennal sensilla in five seal lice species: Antarctophthirus microchir, A. carlinii, A. lobodontis, A. ogmorhini, and Lepidophthirus macrorhini, which parasitize the South American sea lion, Weddell seal, crabeater seal, leopard seal, and southern elephant seal, respectively. The antennal structures of each species were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy, and eight morphotypes were identified: spine, cuticular lobe, sensilla squamiformia, sensilla chaetica, sensilla basiconica I and II, tuft organs, and pore organs. The morphology of sensilla and their distribution on the antennal flagellum exhibited variability among genera and species. For instance, the southern elephant louse (Lepidophthirus macrorhini) is characterized by the presence of sensilla squamiformia, while Antarctophthirus spp. are distinguished by sensilla chaetica.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/insects16060574","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,29]],"date-time":"2025-05-29T06:25:04Z","timestamp":1748499904000},"page":"574","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The Sensory Equipment of Diving Lice, a Host Ecology-Based Comparative Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0003-2705-0681","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Paula","family":"Olivera","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto de Biolog\u00eda de Organismos Marinos, IBIOMAR-CONICET, Puerto Madryn U9120ACD, Chubut, Argentina"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3703-0302","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Claudio R.","family":"Lazzari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l\u2019Insecte (IRBI), UMR7261 CNRS-University of Tours, 37200 Tours, France"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1736-7031","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mar\u00eda Soledad","family":"Leonardi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto de Biolog\u00eda de Organismos Marinos, IBIOMAR-CONICET, Puerto Madryn U9120ACD, Chubut, Argentina"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,5,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"1","article-title":"The sucking lice (Insecta, Anoplura) of the world: A taxonomic checklist with records of mammalian hosts and geographical distributions","volume":"218","author":"Durden","year":"1994","journal-title":"Bull. 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