126 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol. xxix. 



This is another case of a genus pul)lished in so remote a place that 

 reference to it had not been found in any of the bibliog-raphies, though 

 it may occur in some to which access was not had. This correction is 

 due to Rothschild, though to other European students the genus had 

 remained unknown down to 1903. The full account by Rothschild, 

 including the description of two new species, enables the writer to 

 straighten out a ))ad lot of errors in connection with these very inter- 

 esting forms. 



As to species, the errors in the Revision date to receiving from 

 Doctor Berg specimens said by him to be male and female of the true 

 Pulex yrossivcnit'ts of We3'enbergh. This statement was accepted as 

 conclusive, and deductions were based on it. Afterwards Wahlgren 

 unfortunately used the same foundation. As soon as Rothschild's 

 paper was received, the original material was reexamined with the 

 most critical care. What had been called the male of grossiventris 

 We3'enbergh turned out to be (Kjemrr'is Rothschild. A proper male 

 was found for the female previously called gros><lventris. Very little 

 com])arison was necessary to determine that androcli differed widely 

 from anything we had, A further study of the original description 

 b}' We^enbergh convinced me that the female originally called grossi- 

 ventrls and the newly found male were of the same species originally 

 examined by Weyenberg. The detail work in Weyenbergh's descrip- 

 tion is of little value, and expectedly so, since he could have had no 

 conception of the importance of the minute exactness that is now 

 found to be so necessar}". Rothschild says, "According to the descrip- 

 tion, the four segments of the maxillary palpi of gr(»<i<li'entrh Weyen- 

 bergh are the same in length, the lirst being a little longer than the 

 others." However, in the language of the original we read, " les 

 articles sont presque tons de meme longueur, quoique, pour dire vrai, 

 Tarticle basal semble un peu plus court que les autres." When we 

 consider this in the light of his statement as to the tarsal joints, where 

 he says " les quatre premiers articles tarsaux sont de longueur egale, 

 presque aussi longs que larges," a condition we do not know to exist 

 in MalacopsyUa or any other fleas, it becomes evident that his descrip- 

 tions were made from simple visual estimations unaccompanied l)y the 

 niunerous more exact measurements which we now make. Falling 

 back upon the extended general characterization which Weyenbergh 

 gives, there can be no doubt but that the specimens now before me 

 represent the true grossiventrh. 



Referring to the plates of Rothschild, there may be noticed at once 

 a wide difference in the form of the movable finger of the male of 

 gross i vent i'!s and that of androcli. In androcli this sclerite narrows 

 ver}^ regularly to a somewhat acute tip. In grossiventr/s the apex 

 is obliquely truncate. Turning to the paper by Wahlgren, ** this 



aArchiv fur Zool., I, 1903, p. 191. 



