PEOCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Vol. 68 



POSSIBLE INBREEDING OF DIFFERENT VARIETIES OR SPECIES 



When Bacot (1917) proved that the common head louse of Europe 

 would interbreed with the body louse of that continent and give 

 fertile progen)^ he did a most valuable service to taxonomists of 

 the group. After a study of many lice forms collected in this coun- 

 try and after studying the results obtained by others in Europe, 

 the writer is convinced that it has been hybridization that probably 

 more that any other thing has confused different workers in attempt- 

 ing to api^ly characters that others have claimed should hold good 

 for the lice from a given race of mankind. 



A B D 



© (D (D 



w 



O O 



Fig. 3. — Lateral views op the eight pleural plates op females op A, pediculus 



HUMANUS HUMANUS LiNNAEUS, FROM GERMANY; B, P. HUMANUS AMERICANUS, NEW 

 VARIETY, FROM INDIAN MOMMY ; C, P. HUMANUS MGRITARUM FaBRICIUS, FROM NEGRO IN 



Africa ; D, p. consobkinus Fiaget, from brown-iiippkd marmoset 



In the Americas, in parts of the Orient, and in much of Africa 

 there has long been a mixing on a large scale of some of the primary 

 races of men. Where this has taken place for generations it is 

 observed how easy it would be for the different races of lice to in- 

 terbreed, if such races did exist and if they could interbreed, as 

 now Bacot has shown that two of such races do. 



For this reason in the present work the writer has gone back to 

 mummies in the case of the American Indians to find out what type 

 of louse they harbored before the advent of the white man or the 

 negro in the New World. 



