( 186 ) 



NOTES ON BAT FLEAS. 



By the Hon. N. C:. ROTHSCHILD, M.A., F.L.S. 

 I. 



IN 1850 Kolenati described and figured an eight-combed flea which he had off 

 various species of bats. The figure represents a c? bearing a luaue of long 

 hairs on the thorax. This species, named by Kolenati octactenus, is commonly 

 found on the Contiueut and in England on the pipistrelle {Vcspcrugo i>ipistrellus), 

 whicli is one of the hosts mentioned by Kolenati. 



AVhen Wagner, in L'^OS, published the result of his examination of the 

 Siphouaptera contained in the Imperial Museum at St. Petersburg, where some 

 of Kdlenati's sjiecimens are preserved, he made a mistake in respect to octactenus 

 Kolen. Wagner found in the collection a ? of an eight-combed bat flea from 

 Kolenati's collection. This ? he considered to be a typical specimen, which it 

 may be. Now, Wagner had in his own collection two closely allied species of 

 bat fleas — namely, a pair of one species and a single c? of the other. The pair 

 Wagner identified with the above-mentioned ? from Kolenati's collection, while 

 he described the single cj as a new species under the name of C. jubata. In this 

 he was wrong. His jubata is the maued species figured in 1S.56 by Kolenati as 

 octactenus. 



Following Wagner, we have in some {)revious papers recorded the true 

 octactenus (with the maned S) as jubata, and the other species as octactenus, both 

 occurring in England. This second species being witliont a name, wo now propose 

 to call it 



Ischnopsyllus simplex, 



the synonymy of the two insectfi being as follows : . 



1. Ischnopsyllus octactenus. 



Ceratopsyllus oclacleniis Kolenati, Parnx. Chirojit. p. 31. t. .3. fig. 31 (1857) ; Rothsch., Ntir. Znul. v. 



p. 543. n. G. t. 14. figs. 7. !> (1898). 

 Cemtopsijlla jubata Wagner, IIoi: Sue. Ent. Ross. xxxi. p. 584. n. 4 (1898). 



2. Ischnopsyllus simplex spec. nov. 

 CeralopnijUa ndactcna Wagner («o« Kolenati), I.e. p. 580. n. 1 (1898). 



The differences between the c? c? of this species and the preceding have been 

 ably described and figured by Wagner. The ? ? of the two species are best 

 recognised by the difference in the length of the apical bristles of the metathoracical 

 epimernm. Tliis plate bears in /. octactenus Kol. one long and two short bristles, 

 while there are in /. simplex one long and one short bristle. 



The I'uleu- eespeitiUonis of Duges (1832) is an eight-combed bat flea whicli 

 may be identical with one of the later-described species. But Ungcs's description 

 is quite insufficient for recognition. 



