CreatureData

Chigoe

Tunga penetrans (Linnaeus, 1758)

Status not recordedinsects

The chigoe (Tunga penetrans) is a species in the family Tungidae, order Siphonaptera.

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Quick facts about the chigoe

Weight
Not recorded
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the chigoe live?

Not recorded

Where has it been introduced?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the chigoe as introduced in 2 countries.

  1. Ecuador
  2. South Africa

Introduced means brought by people and now present; invasive means the country's checklist records an impact. A species can be native to one part of a country and introduced in another. Source: Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (CC BY 4.0).

Is the chigoe endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the chigoe classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumArthropoda
  3. classInsecta
  4. orderSiphonaptera
  5. familyTungidae
  6. genusTunga
  7. SpeciesTunga penetrans (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms Pulex penetrans, Pulex reptans, Rhynchoprion reptans

Other names and names in other languages (18)
  • Chigoe fleaEnglish
  • Jigger fleaEnglish
  • SandvlooiAfrikaans
  • Chi³guiuh³cpa
  • blecha písečnáCzech
  • PulgaSpanish
  • tu potoFrench
  • スナノミJapanese
  • ZandvloDutch
  • Pchła piaskowaPolish
  • Bicho de péPortuguese
  • Песчаная блохаRussian
  • blcha piesočnáSlovak
  • FunzaSwahili
  • NinguaSpanish
  • Puce chiqueFrench
  • Puce-chiqueFrench
  • Блоха проницающаяRussian

Catalogue of Life

Relatives of the chigoe

Other species in the same genus Tunga.

CompareChigoe vs Woodrat ear fleaChigoe vs Tunga bondariChigoe vs Tunga bonnetiChigoe vs Tunga bossii

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

Is the chigoe an invasive species?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the chigoe as introduced in 2 countries: Ecuador and South Africa, but does not flag it as invasive in any of them.

What kind of animal is the chigoe?

The chigoe (Tunga penetrans) belongs to the family Tungidae in the order Siphonaptera.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-14. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Chigoe (Tunga penetrans). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/chigoe

MLA

“Chigoe (Tunga penetrans).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/chigoe.

BibTeX
@misc{chigoe_2026,
  title = {Chigoe (Tunga penetrans)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/chigoe},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}