It is an external parasite of rabbits and hares and is occasionally found on cats and dogs and also certain seabirds that nest in burrows.

Its head is held at an angle to its body and its mouthparts are adapted for piercing the skin of its host and sucking its blood.

On some of the islands off the coasts of the United Kingdom it can be found on Manx shearwaters and Atlantic puffins, presumably because the birds nest in burrows and often take over holes previously occupied by rabbits.

The symptoms are swelling of the eyelids and lips, conjunctivitis and the formation of skin tumours on the face, ears and limbs.

[5] The rabbit flea has also been implicated in the transmission of the Bartonella alsatica bacterium, an opportunistic pathogen that causes disease in animals and man.