( 187 ) 



II. 



In 10(i3 wc (lescrilied two North American bat fleas as Cerntopst/lla h)m'(//v's 

 from Ontario, and ('rratoj/si/Ua paljiosKS from British Columbia. Dr. Carl Baker, 

 in his recent jiaper,* has added a third, named Ceratops'/llus croshyi, from Missouri. 

 This insect is shortly described in a " key " to the American bat fleas. As this 

 "key " is misleading, we hope Dr. Baker will not take it amiss that we make the 

 following comments. The insect is characterised by Dr. Baker as follows : — 



" Ctenidia on segments I — VII of abdomen ; metatarsal article I with spines 

 7 — 8j and this segment as long as segments II, III and IV togctlier ; mesonotum 

 nearly twice the length of metanotum on the dorsal line." 



Now, taking the characters in the same order as in this short diagnosis of 

 crosbiji, we find that in the description of insignis the abdomen is stated to bear 

 seven combs of modified bristles. The mesonotum of insignis we figured as being 

 about twice the length of the metanotum. The tarsi were not described, as they 

 did not present any striking differences from the other American species. On 

 re-examination we find that the hindtarsus of insignis agrees with Baker's 

 description of the hindtarsus of croshiji. Therefore the diagnosis of croshyi as it 

 stands in Baker's paper offers nothing which does not also apply to insignis. Baker 

 himself differentiates insignis from croshyi by erroneously attributing only fonr 

 abdominal combs to insignis instead of seven, as stated in our description. It 

 is qnite possible, however, that croshyi is not identical with insignis. 



III. — A New Bat Flea from Italy. 

 Ischnopsyllus gestroi spec. nov. 



This species is allied to /. martialis Rothsch.,t but differs in many essential 

 points. 



Thorax. — There are fewer bristles on the meso- and metanotum than in 

 I. martialis, there being no bristles immediately above the pleural plates. The 

 metanotum and the first and second abdominal tergites bear one short apical 

 spine on each side. The metathoracical epimernm has five or six bristles 

 (2 or 3, 2, 1). 



Abdomen. — On the abdominal tergites 2 to 6 there is one bristle below the 

 stigma and another above it, and two more bristles on each side on the back some 

 distance from the one standing above the stigma. In front of the dorsal bristles 

 there are one or two small hairs on each side. The seventh tergite bears one 

 or two more bristles on the back than the preceding segments do. There is 

 one long apical bristle on each side of this tergite, accompanied in the ? by two 

 small hairs, there being in the S .a row of short apical hairs in between the 

 two long ajiieal bristles. 



Legs. — The mid- and hindcoxae bear posteriorly at the ape.x one long and 

 one very short bristle. The mid- and hindfemora have two ventral and two lateral 

 bristles at the apex on the outer side, there being, besides, on the hindfomur 

 five short bristles situated in the basal fourth. The midtibia has on the outer 

 side one lateral row of six bristles, and on the inner side only one or two bristles. 

 The hindtil)ia bears a lateral row of eight or nine bristles on the outer side and 



* rnic. U. S. A'at. .Viis, xxix. p. i:i7 (1005). 



f A'm: Zunl. x. p. 322. n. fi. t. 10. fig. 17-20 (190:!). 



