Cattle ; Redwater or Texas fever (Babesia bi^emina ) . Babesiosis 

 ( Babesia berbera ) . Anaplasmosis or ^allsickness (Anaplasma laarginale ) 



Sheep ; Babesiosis (Babesia ovis ) . 



Horses ; Biliary fever ( Nuttalia equi ). 



Wherever and \inder whichever name it occiirs, this tick appears 

 to be of considerable veterinary importance. 



IDENTIFICATION 



Male ; This small, yellowish to reddish brown tick varies from 

 about 1.5 mm. to 2.5 mm. in overall length, and from 1.0 mm. to 

 l.U mm. in width. The presence of a short, tapering caudal append- 

 age is noteworthy (absent in B. annul at us , present in B. decoloratus , 

 but in B. micro plus the interne posterior junctiire of tTie adanal 

 shields~does nol extend beyond the posterior bodj- margin). The 

 hypostome dentition is U/U (typically 3/3 in B. decoloratus ); and 

 the inner margin of the basal palpal segment ventrally is concave 

 (bearing a bristle-bearing protuberance in B. decoloratvis ) . The 

 scutum is qviite hirsute. 



Minning (193^) indicated, as his primary critical difference 

 between B. fall ax and B. microplus , the bluntness or acuteness of 

 the inner spur of coxa I . This character is variable among spec- 

 imens from Africa and other continents; figure 112 illustrates a 

 specimen from Northern Rhodesia in which this spur is blunt on one 

 side and acute on the other! 



Female ; After some experience females shotild be easily recog- 

 nized in African collections, provided one carefully and methodical- 

 ly observes clean specimens from which the wet surface film of 

 preservatives has been removed. 



Like that of B. annulatus , this sex has U/A hypostome denti- 

 tion. B. microplus can be distinguished because the spiurs of 

 coxa I "are divided by a deep, inverted "V" shape cleft, while 

 those of B. annulatus are separated merely by a shallow, concave 

 emarginatxon (this character sho\ild be ascertained by placing the 

 specimen obliquely against the light) . No bristle-bearing pro- 



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