RH4ARKS 



The conftision regarding the taxonomic position of this spe- 

 cies is reviewed in detail by Theiler, Walker, and Wiley (1956) 

 in a report so easily available to all specialists who might be 

 concerned with this matter that it is not abstracted here. 



These authors, with admirable conservatism, persist in refer- 

 ring to that tick herein called R. compositus by the name R. ayeri . 

 However, their various rearing and di stributional studies "show R. 

 ayeri to incltide all morphologic eil and ecological features of rT 

 capensis compositus and to be a valid species and taxonomic entity, 

 separate and distinct from R. capensis , which they have also reared 

 through the Fi generation. "They say: "As to whether R. ayeri is 

 R. compositus or not, we are inclined to think that it''is, but we 

 are at the moment not in a position to commit ovirselves" . In their 

 summary, it is stated that: "(R. ayeri ) is shown to be a valid 

 species and is in all probability synonymous with Neumann's 1897 

 R. compositus " . 



While there is some possibility that eventually R. congxasitus 

 and R. ayeri will be shown to be separate species, thas at present 

 appears so \mlikely that I, more rashly than n^r friends, am calling 

 this material R. compositus . 



Santos Dias (1948A) attributed a slightly misshapen specimen 

 to R. ayeri . 



The Sudan material has been checked by Dr. Theiler. 



IDENTIFICATION 



Males ; Size medium to large (A. 00 mm, to 7.75 ram. long). 

 Scutal punctations are numerous, very closely spaced, but mostly 

 noncontiguous, uniformly large in central area (in R. capensis , 

 large punctations are scattered among ntimerous smaller punctations 

 in central area), fewer or absent bordering at least the anterior 

 half of the lateral grooves. The cervical area may have somewhat 

 more variable punctations within lateral grooves (few in R. 

 capensis ). Cervical pits are short and deepj cervical grooves 

 are shallow, diverging (frequently indistinct) (deep and long 



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