NO. 1361. REVISION OF AMERICAN SIPHONAPTERA— BAKER. 431 



pellod to follow. 'V\\i' male and foinalc, even though properly asso- 

 ciated, would full ill ditt'erent j>enera, perhaps, accordiii*;- to all that 

 Taschenhero- hud oiven us in the characterization of t>enei'a. 



Mr. Skuse took deep umbrage at my wholly innocent remarks and 

 the next year presented a "rejoinder," in which he reasserts the 

 specitic identity of the male and female. Beyond this one statement, 

 his paper was principally taken up with personal criticisms. There 

 was not the faintest intention on ni}' part to attempt passing- Stejj/iano- 

 cirmis " under the heel"' — the organism will still contiiuie to exist in 

 its original status, no matter what either of us may write about it. In 

 copying the description at all there was no other motive than a desire 

 for more know ledge concerning it. I was unfortunate in not having 

 had access to the plates. The simple fact concerning Mr, Skuse's 

 description is that out of it all he presents in the generic characteriza- 

 tion but a single diagnostic generic character — that of the pectinated 

 "cap-like patella" on the head — the other characters ))eing common 

 to other genera, either separately or in combination. I was not able 

 at that time to interpret even this clearl}" from the description alone, 

 as some species of Ctejiojjsyllus presented a similar general appear- 

 ance. Indeed, the male of Stej^hanodrcufi is apparentlv a Ofc?)oj)si/IIu.'i, 

 as that genus is commonly known. The matter of four-jointed anten- 

 nse must certainly be reexamined. If such a character is presented, 

 then this species must be made the type of a new family differing from 

 all other known Heas. But in the description of the apparently con- 

 generic Stephanoclrcua mars, Rothschild says nothing about four- 

 jointed antennae, and his drawing does not show four joints. Some of 

 the characters given by Mr. Skuse in the generic description are of 

 specific value only, and the length of thorax given in the specific diag- 

 nosis is a character usually of generic value. Other than this, his 

 specific description is not at all diagnostic. 



Mr. Skuse, in this connection, criticises me also for not being able 

 to place the flea FA-hidnoplmga arnhnUotx. But I could not do anything 

 with it until a fuller and more exact morphological study was made 

 and a real generic diagnosis presented. 



The genus Kstephanocircus now possesses far greater int(>rest for 

 American students on account of the recent publication of 



STEPHANOCIRCUS MARS Rothschild. 



This species Avas collected on a ^'' iresj)ero)iu/s''' in ArgcMitina l)y Dr. 

 Berg, and is known from a single female in the Rothschild collection. 

 It is greatly to be i-egretted that the male could not have also passed 

 under Mr. Rothschild's critical eye. The occurrence of this genus 

 also in South America is a matter of great interest. It is of 

 interest to note that a greater numl)er of striking ca.ses of .sexual 

 dimorphism occur in Soutii American fieas than in those of an}' other 

 country. 



