R. T. LEWIS ON A SPECIES OF IXODES. 11 



in having a comparatively small and short body and a very long, 

 thin tail, which it switches about like a whiplash. So far as 

 can be judged by the description given and a portion of the skin 

 sent, this reptile is probabl}'' a Varanus, several species of which 

 are known to inhabit the district, and as the ticks in question 

 are usually found grouped together under the lizard's tail, the 

 irritable movements already alluded to would seem to be thus 

 abundantly accounted for. 



Attempts to dislodge these ticks uninjured proving fruitless, 

 a portion of the skin to which three were adherent was sent to 

 me by post ; on arrival I found them dead and perfectly dry, 

 but with some trouble and much care I succeeded in detaching 

 them, and in two cases without injury to the mouth organs. 

 As regards size, each specimen measures 2'4 m.m., or one-tenth 

 of an inch in breadth, with a length, exclusive of the rostrum, 

 of 2'6 m.m. The dorsal surface (Plate I, fig. 1) is, in colour, a 

 rich purple brown, with nine sharply-defined, irregularly-shaped 

 patches of a bright yellow tint, the whole being pitted with 

 numerous dark spots, which have the appearance of being the 

 remains of follicles, from which at one time hairs arose ; in tex- 

 ture it is hard and unyielding, preserving its natural shape and 

 contour in the desiccated condition. The ventral surface, on 

 the contrary, is, during life, soft, elastic, and pleated into many 

 folds, so as to admit of considerable augmentation in the size of 

 the abdomen when gorged with alimentary matter. 



The eight legs have seven joints each, of which the coxa is 

 armed with a hard spinous process, and the terminal joint of 

 the tarsus is furnished with two claws and a number of hairs, 

 two of which are of considerable length. On the median line, 

 near to the posterior end, there is a well-marked anal orifice, 

 but the position of the ovipositor is only made out with diffi- 

 culty between the basal joints of the second pair of legs. The 

 external organs of respiration are two very clearly-defined stig- 

 matic plates of oval shape a little Within the marginal line, a 

 short distance to the rear of the fourth pair of legs. The 

 general colour of the ventral surface is dark chrome yellow, 

 with the legs a russet brown. The greatest interest, however, 

 naturally attaches to the mouth organs, which, when examined 

 under the microscope, are seen to comprise means of offence of 

 a very formidable kind ; but an accurate and exhaustive de- 



