Xenopsylla

[ zĕn′ŏp-sĭl′ə, zĕn′ə-sĭl′ə ]

n.

A genus of fleas parasitic on rats and involved in the transmission of bubonic plague.

Example sentences from the Web for xenopsylla

  • A flea, Xenopsylla cheopis, from an infected little mammal—usually a rat—can hop from the dying rat onto a human and bite it.

    It’s Not Time to Worry About China’s Plague Just Yet |Kent Sepkowitz |July 23, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

  • A plague flea (Xenopsylla) has been found on an African swift.

    The Flea |Harold Russell

  • A flea killed by the disinfecting mixture at this desk was identified at the Bureau of Science as a rat flea (Xenopsylla cheopis).

    Plague |Thomas Wright Jackson