

FAMILY HECTOPSYLLIDAE BAKER 



1904 Hectopsyllidae Baker, Proc. United States Nat. Mus., 27:375. 



1904 Sarcopsyllidae Baker, Proc. United States Nat. Mus., 27:373. 



1905 Hectopsyllidae Baker, Proc. United States Nat. Mus., 29: 123. 



1905 Rhynchoprionidae Baker, Proc. United States Nat. Mus., 29: 123. 



1906 Hectopsyllidae Oudemans, Nov. Zool., 16:157. 



1925 Tungidae C. Fox, Insects and Disease of Man, p. 130. 



1926 Sarcopsyllidae Dampf, Ent. Mite, 15:378. 



1929 Hectopsyllidae Ewing, Manual External Parasites, p. 178. 

 1936 Hectopsyllidae Wagner, Tierwelt Mitteleuropas, Bd. VI, Abt. XVII, 

 s. 4. 



The members of this family are distinguished by the great 

 reduction of the thoracic segments which together are usually 

 not longer than either the head or the first abdominal tergite. 

 The legs are rather weak, and the abdomen in the female is 

 prominently distended. No antepygidial bristles are present. 



But one genus belonging to this family has been reported 

 from the East. It may be characterized as follows. 



ECHIDNOPHAGA OLLIFF 

 Echidnophaga Olliff, 1886, Proc. Linn. Soc. N. S. Wales, 1:172. 

 Genotype: Echidnophaga ambulans Olliff 



Neither a genal nor a pronotal ctenidium present. Head 

 angulate in front. Frontal tubercle absent. Abdominal seg- 

 ments II to VIII each with a conspicuous spiracle. Hind coxa 

 produced at the apex into a broad tooth; hind coxa also armed 

 with a patch of spinelets on the inner side (Plate II, fig. 5) . 

 Fifth tarsal segment of each leg armed with three pairs of stout 

 lateral plantar bristles anterior to which there may be one or 

 two pairs of much more slender bristles. 



This genus is represented in the East by but one species 

 which is a widespread pest of chickens in the South. Its depre- 

 dations are so great as to cause serious losses to the poultry 

 business. 



[9] 



