Sarcoptes scabiei or the itch mite is a parasitic arthropod that burrows into skin and causes scabies. The mite is cosmopolitan, meaning it can be found in all parts of the world. Humans are not the only mammals that can become infected. Other mammals, such as wild and domesticated dogs and cats (in which it is one cause of mange) as well as ungulates, wild boars, bovids, wombats, koalas, and great apes are affected.