20 Genus Argas 



Geographical distribution. 



A. persicus appears to be cosmopolitan, though its representatives 

 in different countries have been allowed specific rank by different 

 writers (see Synonymy, p. 8). 



Europe: Russia. Neumann states that it was collected at Ssamjam 

 by A. Spoof (Oudemans Coll.). 



Asia: Persia. Oken (1818) and Dupr6 (1819) were the first to report 

 the presence of this tick in Persia. Kotzebue (1819, p. 180) states that 

 it has infested Miana from time immemorial, that it hibernates in the 

 cracks in the walls to become aggressive in summer. He reports passing 

 several villages which the natives told him had been abandoned owing to 

 A. pei-sicus. At Avanlung it was only necessary to break away a part 

 of a house wall to discover hundreds of the ticks. The houses were 

 built of clay mixed with straw. It was first described by Oken (1818) 

 and by Fischer de Waldheim (1823, p. 269). Schlimmer (1874) 

 reported it from Chahroude and Bestham on the main road from Teheran 

 to Khoragan. Churchill (1880, p. xx) states that the natives of Persia 

 believe it lives on fowls in winter and that it occurs at Mazrah on the 

 Resht-Teheran road, at Chesna Ali, near Asterabad, at Shahrud in 

 Khorassan and at Kashan. According to Neumann it is distributed 

 throughout N.E. and N.W. Persia. Tholozan collected specimens in 

 chicken coops in different parts of Persia and sent them to Laboulbene 

 (1881). The Paris Museum contains specimens from Miana, of which 

 Neumann (1901, p. 253) gives particulars. The latter author also records 

 and gives particulars of specimens from Palestine, E. Turkestan, and 

 Pekin, China (all in Paris Mus.). Captain E. W. W. Greig, I.M.S., has 

 sent us specimens from India (Kasauli, Punjab, 1906). 



Africa: Egypt. Taschenberg (1874, p. 171) had specimens collected 

 in houses in Egypt. Neumann (1901, p. 253) records persicus from 

 Egypt (Klunzinger Coll.) and from Dongola, collected by Ehrenberg 

 (Berlin Mus.). Nuttall has received numerous live specimens from 

 Cairo collected in fowl houses by Prof. H. Bitter, and others from the 

 Soudan collected similarly by Dr A. Balfour (Khartoum). A J was 

 collected at Fort National, Algeria, by P. Lesne (Nn., 1901, p. 253). 

 Lounsbury (ix. 1903, p. 1) states it occurs in most if not all the towns 

 of Cape Colony, also in the Transvaal, Orange River Colony and Natal 

 (at Pietermaritzburg). In South Africa it appears to thrive as well on 

 the coast as inland, being as abundant about Cape Town, Port Elizabeth 

 and Uitenhage as at Grahamstown and Graaff-Reinet. Nuttall has 



