pomposum occurs in this territory and that he considers the Jarvis 

 statements as ""sheer nonsense'". It appears, therefore, that earlier 

 literatiire records for A. pompo sum in Mozambique and Southern Rhode- 

 sia are open to question. 



Wherever A. pomposum occurs it seems to be present in good 

 numbers. Its 'distribution, so far as Theiler has determined (cor- 

 respondence), is mainly in the Rhodesia Highland Savannah type of 

 vegetation, certainly not in the moist vegetation of the Umtali- 

 Melsetter district and adjoining Manicaland. 



Itore extensive search for and study of this species is required, 

 Statements regarding damage to cattle and to children by this tick 

 in Southern Rhodesia appear to be questionable. 



Sousa Dias (1950) writes concerning A. pomposum , which is com- 

 mon in the Angolan highlands, as follows: '"It Is considered by 

 breeders to be one of the most harmfiil ectoparasites of stock for 

 it causes wounds that are most difficult to heal. It is probable 

 that (this tick) is one of the factors that favors the dispersal 

 of bovine dermatoses so common in Angola". He surmises^ that A. 

 pomposum is a heartwater vector in Angola inasmuch as it occurs 

 in heartwater areas in the absence of other recognized vectors. 

 /"Neitz (19A-7) showed that A. pomposum is a vector of heartwater_7« 



A. pomposum is close morphologically to A. lepidua and to A. 

 variegatum . The latter, biologically, is a most versatile tick 

 except that it shuns desert and rainforest areas. A. lepidum 

 is a semiarid coiintry and savannah species. A. pomposum appears 

 to be chiefly a highland species. See also remarks on A. super bum 

 in section below. 



A gynandromorph of this species has been described by Santos 

 Dias (195A). Schiilze (1932C) discussed certain features of the 

 ornamentation of A. pomposum in relation to other species in this 

 genus . 



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