only means of determining the reason for these two color patterns. 

 /~Since the above was written, Rageau (1953B) has reported that 

 Cameroons specimens and others that he has seen from French 

 Equatorial Africa all show the reduction in ornamentation that 

 has appeared to me to be more common in East than in West African 

 specimens_.7 



Robinson (19?6) stated that a large pale spot in each lateral 

 field of the scutum and a stout spur on coxa IV are female diag- 

 nostic characters. I have examined Nuttall's lot 3381 in British 

 Museum (Natural History), on which Robinson's species definition 

 and illustrations were based, and find it to be the most heavily 

 and liberally ornamented material, along with a few others from 

 Sierra Leone, of any representatives of this species in the col- 

 lection. Actually, lateral field pale spots are absent in most 

 of these specimens. The stoutness of the spur on coxa IV is also 

 a variable character eind the specimen selected by Robinson is an 

 extreme example. In most specimens, this spur is merely a small 

 pointed projection from or near the posterior coxal margin. 



Ali Sudan specimens at hand are drably colored and their pig- 

 mented areas are no more extensive than those illustrated (Figure 

 90). On some, ornamentation is almost obsolete. 



IDENTIFICATION 



Males . No other African amblyomma caJi be confused with this 

 species because of the smallness of its pigmented areas, flat eyes, 

 and absence of both lateral grooves and of large scutal punctations. 

 Vlales measure about 5.0 mm. long and ^.0 mm. wide. 



Females are equeilly easily distinguished from £lL1 others in 

 Africa by the absence of large scutal punctations, triangiiLar 

 scutal shape with narrow posterior margin, and distribution of 

 color pattern that is usually only an irregular spot in the pos- 

 terior point bvct somft times also has small lateral spots. The cer- 

 vical grooves are short and eyes are large, flat, ajid pale. Fe- 

 males, unengorged, are usually about 6.0 mm. long and /V.7 mm. wide. 



_ 258 _ 



