CreatureData

Sheep ked

Melophagus ovinus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Status not recordedinsects

The sheep ked (Melophagus ovinus) is a species in the family Hippoboscidae, order Diptera.

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Quick facts about the sheep ked

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 sheep ked live?

Not recorded

Where has it been introduced?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the sheep ked as introduced in 3 countries.

  1. Canary Islands
  2. Czechia
  3. United States

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 sheep ked 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 sheep ked classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumArthropoda
  3. classInsecta
  4. orderDiptera
  5. familyHippoboscidae
  6. genusMelophagus
  7. SpeciesMelophagus ovinus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms Hippobosca ovina, Melophaga hirtella, Melophagus bolivianus, Melophagus fera, Melophagus hirtella, Melophagus montanus

Other names and names in other languages (21)
  • LuisvliegAfrikaans
  • kloš ovčíCzech
  • FårelusDanish
  • SchaflausfliegeGerman
  • lampaantäikärpänenFinnish
  • FørilúsFaroese
  • Pou du moutonFrench
  • juh-kullancslégyHungarian
  • ヒツジシラミバエJapanese
  • sauelusflueNorwegian Bokmål
  • SchapenluisDutch
  • sauelusflugeNorwegian Nynorsk
  • wpleszcz owczyPolish
  • Овечий рунецRussian
  • kuklorodka ovčiaSlovak
  • fårlusSwedish
  • SkaapluisAfrikaans
  • barbin du moutonFrench
  • Mélophage du moutonFrench
  • Mouche vampire du moutonFrench
  • SchapenluisvliegDutch

Catalogue of Life

Relatives of the sheep ked

Other species in the same genus Melophagus.

CompareSheep ked vs Melophagus dyspnoetusSheep ked vs Melophagus gruniniSheep ked vs Melophagus himalayaeSheep ked vs Melophagus kamtshaticus

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

Is the sheep ked an invasive species?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the sheep ked as introduced in 3 countries: Canary Islands, Czechia and United States, but does not flag it as invasive in any of them.

What kind of animal is the sheep ked?

The sheep ked (Melophagus ovinus) belongs to the family Hippoboscidae in the order Diptera.

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). Sheep ked (Melophagus ovinus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/sheep-ked

MLA

“Sheep ked (Melophagus ovinus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/sheep-ked.

BibTeX
@misc{sheep_ked_2026,
  title = {Sheep ked (Melophagus ovinus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/sheep-ked},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}