544 



THE ANIMAL PARASITES OK MAN 



Genus. Dermatophilus, Guerin. 



Dermatophilus caecata, Enclerl. 



The eyes of the female vestigial. Taken on and behind the ears of Mus rat t us 

 in Brazil. 



Dermatophilus penetrans, L., 1758 (Jigger, Chigoe). 



S y n . : Sarcopsylla penetrans. 



About I to i'2 mm. in length; brown in colour. Eyes distinct. 

 The males only occasionally visit man to bite ; the fertilized female, 

 on the other hand, bores into the skin with her head, particularly 

 about the toes of the host, and then attains considerable dimensions. 



The eggs develop on the 

 soil with a metamorphosis 

 similar to that of the 

 common flea. 



FlG. 380. Dermatophilus penetrans : young 

 female. Highly magnified. (After Moniez.) 



FIG. 381. Dermatophilus penetrans: 

 older female. Enlarged. (After Moniez.) 



The sand flea (nigua) particularly .infests Central and South America, and, 

 in 1873, was carried by ships from Brazil to the West Coast of Africa. In a com- 

 paratively short time it has become disseminated throughout Africa and has also 

 appeared in Madagascar ; recently also it has been reported from China. 



Besides attacking man, it also settles on mammals, for instance, on dogs, pigs, 

 etc. According to Jullien the wound or little swelling caused by the female has no 

 particular significance, as children infested with ten or eleven sand fleas quietly 

 proceeded with their games. It will be understood, however, that the wound easily 

 affords the opportunity for the setting up of inflammation or even septic processes, 

 as is the case in any kind of wound. 



[The jigger is also well known in the West Indies. F. V. T.] 



Genus. Echidnophaga, Olliff. 

 Four species found on rats, etc. 



Echidnophaga gallinacea, Westwood (Chigoe of Fowls). 

 [This flea is a native of tropical Asia and Africa. It lives on the 

 fo\\l chiefly, attacking the neck and around the eyes. Specimens 



