June, 16] REVIEWS 381 



Reviews 



Ticks, a Monograph of the Ixodoidea, by G. H. F. Nuttall, C. War- 

 burton, W. F. Cooper, and L. E. Robinson. Cambridge Uni- 

 versity Press, Part III, pages XIII+349-550. October, 1915. 



This third part of the monograph of the ticks is under the authorship of Doctor 

 Nuttall and Professor Warburton and deals with the genus Hsemaphysahs. As a 

 companion fascicle has appeared Part II, of the bibliography of ticks by G. H. F. 

 Nuttall and L. E. Robinson, containing a total of 462 titles. Part I of the monograph 

 (Argasidse) was published in 1908 and Part II (Ixodidse) in 1911. The same general 

 plan of treatment is followed as in the numbers already issued, and the present part 

 is up to the high standard set by the portions of the work already in print. This num- 

 ber is well illustrated, containing six plates and 144 text figures. The plates are re- 

 produced from former illustrations of the authors. One-half of the text figures are 

 new. The authors recognize forty-two species and eight varieties in this genus. No' 

 new species are included, but a number of those rather poorly described previously 

 are more fully characterized, and a considerable number of larvse and nymphs are 

 described for the first time. 



The genus Hsemaphysalis is one of comparatively small economic importance; 

 however, we find by going over the host lists as presented by the authors that nine- 

 teen species and three varieties have been found upon domestic animals, and four spe- 

 cies have been taken on poultry. Two species of this genus have been proved to 

 carry disease. One of these, H. leachi, acts as the chief vector of Piroplasma canis 

 which produces a very fatal disease of dogs in Africa, known as malignant jaundice. 

 The other, H. cinnabarina var. punctata, has been shown to be capable of transmit- 

 ting British redwater, the causative organism of which is known as P. divergens. 

 The part played by this tick in transmitting this disease is probably a minor one, 

 as Ixodes ricinus has been shown to be the principal carrier. It is interesting to 

 note in this connection that the authors consider H. chordeilis (Packard 1869) to be 

 identical with Koch's H. cinnabarina described from Brazil, thus suppressing a name 

 which is familiar to American workers in this group. They have also concluded that 

 the above mentioned form (punctata) is merely a variety of H. cinnabarina. 



Only two species of the genus occur in the United States, these being H. cinnabarina 

 [H. chordeilis), and H. leporis-palustris, the common rabbit tick. The former of these 

 species, together with its European variety punctata, is the most widely distributed 

 tick of the genus. A valuable list showing the distribution and hosts of the various 

 species of the genus is given, and a good summary of what is known of the biologies 

 of species of this genus is included. The life-histories of six species have been more 

 or less completely worked out. The authors add some new biological records to 

 those already published by themselves and various other workers, and unpub- 

 lished notes by Doctor Bi'umpt of Paris on H. concinna and H. inermis are included. 

 The latter species exhibits certain biological traits unique among the ixodid ticks. 

 The female deposits comparatively few eggs (about 200), and the time required 

 for larvse and nymphs to engorge is exceptionally short, ranging from one and 

 one-half to three hours in the former and one to two hours in the latter. 



The fact is significant that only fourteen out of the total of fifty species and varie- 

 ties recognized by the authors are known in all four of their stages. Further, it may 

 be mentioned that but nineteen species and varieties are known in the nymphal 

 stage and fourteen in the larval stage, and but one sex has been discovered in thir- 

 teen of the species and varieties. 



