A NOTK ON AMSTRAIJAN PKDICljfJDS. 



By T HARYEY JOHNSTON, MA, D Sc, and 

 LAUNCEIiOT HARRISON. 



Read before the Royal Society of Queensland, November 21thy 



1912. 



No Pediculids have been described, as far as we know, 

 as occurring on our native fauna, although it is Ukely that 

 a few species will be found to infest the true Australian 

 Muridce. One is recorded below. Besides this, one may 

 expect to find some on the various species of seals which,, 

 at times, frequent parts of the Australian coast. Mar- 

 supials apparently do not harbour true lice, their ecto- 

 parasitic insects being Hippoboscids and Mallophaga ; the 

 latter, strange to say, belonging to that division of 

 Mallophaga which is mainh^ parasitic on birds. The bats 

 and flying foxes are parasitised by Nycteribids, as in other 

 parts of the world. 



In this note, an attempt is made to give a census of 

 the Pediculids known to occur in Australia. The presence 

 of some species is recorded for the first time. 



Man. 



Pediculus capitis, L. 

 P. vestimenti, Nitzsch. 

 Phthirius pubis, L. 



The presence of the first and third has been 

 referred to on a few occasions in Australian medical 

 journals. Mr. Froggatt (1907) and Mr. Lee (1908) 

 also mention the three, but do not localise them. They 

 are all cosmopolitan species and occur in every State 

 of the Commonwealth. There is no need to make 

 further reference to them. 



