230 BRITISH TYEOGLYPHIDJ1. 



In 1899 the late Prof. P. Kramer, in the Tyroglyphidae 

 part of " Demodicidse und Sarcoptidse," constituting 

 Lieferung 7 of ' Das Thierreich,' makes the classification 

 translated at page 42 of this book ; in it he preserves 

 both the genus Glycypkagus and the genus Dermacarus, 

 but he separates them by a long distance, and the 

 distinction he makes between them is that the female 

 Glycypliacjus has the projecting bursa copulatrix, and 

 the female Dermacarus has not. To satisfy this defini- 

 tion he includes G. Crameri (which he calls G. talpse) 

 in Glycyphagus, and places sciurinus and one other 

 species, arvicolse of Dujardin, in Dermacarus. I 

 cannot help thinking that if Dr. Kramer had been 

 personally acquainted with the creatures he would not, 

 even so shortly before his death, have placed G. Crameri 

 and G. sciurinus in two separate genera; they are 

 extremely closely allied creatures in every stage, and 

 must, in my opinion, certainly be in the same genus, 

 and even in the same sub-genus if there be one. In 

 addition to this there is another serious objection to 

 Dr. Kramer's classification of this group, viz. that it is 

 not correct to say that sciurinus has not any projecting 

 bursa copulatrix ; it is undoubtedly very small, but so 

 it is in G. Crameri, although in that species it is a 

 trifle larger than in G. sciurinus. It is true that if 

 Haller's drawing were the only thing relied on, and 

 probably Kramer had not anything else to judge from, 

 it might well be supposed that G. sciurinus had not 

 any projecting bursa copulatrix; but Haller only 

 figures the underside of the female, and in G. Crameri 

 the bursa copulatrix cannot be seen from the ventral 

 aspect. Moreover Haller expressly says that he had 

 only two specimens of the lately emerged female, which 

 is the period when coition takes place, and that both 

 these were in such extremely bad condition that he 

 had not attempted to draw or describe from them ; and 

 that consequently his figures and description were 

 taken entirely from the older female when the eggs 

 were ripe. This is plainly shown in his drawing ; but 



