A taxonomic review of the North American genus Orchopeas Jordan, 1933 (Siphonaptera: Ceratophyllidae: Ceratophyllinae).

The 20 named taxa assigned to the North American flea genus Orchopeas Jordan, 1933 are reviewed. Four of these are treated as junior synonyms and the fifth as a nomen dubium. These are: Orchopeas sexdentatus firemani Hubbard, 1955 = Orchopeas schisintus (Jordan, 1929); Orchopeas schisintus nevadensis (Jordan, 1929) = Orchopeas schisintus agilis (Rothschild, 1905); Orchopeas howardi bolivari Barrera, 1955 = Orchopeas howardi (Baker, 1895); Orchopeas howardi texensis Eads, 1950 = Orchopeas fulleri Traub, 1950 and Orchopeas labiatus (nomen dubium). Six taxa originally assigned as subspecies of Orchopeas sexdentatus are elevated to the rank of full species and distribution and host preferences of all 15 species are discussed. Illustrations of the diagnostic features of all the species are provided.