A NEW GENUS OF MALLOPHAGA FROM AFRICAN 



GUINEA FOWL IX THE UNITED ST \ II- 



NATIONAL MUSEUM 



By JOHN HOWARD PAINE 



BUREAU OF ENTOMOLOGY, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT UK AGKICULTUKh 



In a collection of Mallophaga, or bird-lice, taken from bird skins 

 collected by Dr. E. A Mearns of the Childs Frick African Expediti in, 

 1911-1912, is a form which shows characters different from those 

 of any of the known genera and for which the following new genus 

 is founded. 



SOMAPHANTUS, new genus 



Five specimens, including a single male, were taken from two >kin> 

 of Guinea Fowl, Numida ptilorhyncha (U. S. X. M., Cat. Nbs. 

 243182 and 243176; Lakiunda and Tana rivers, British East Africa, 

 August, 1912), collected by Dr. E. A. Mearns. This form, structur- 

 ally, is most like Mcnopon, but in general appearance is unlike any 

 other Mallophagan ; it may be easily separated from Mcnopon in 

 having the sides of the head nearly straight and by the elongate form 

 of the body. 



Species small, inconspicuous, with weak chitinization ; form elon- 

 gate, narrow, with sides subparallel, and all parts well furnished 

 with hairs. Head narrow, longer than wide, with sides nearh 

 straight. Antennal fossa? long, narrow, parallel to the sides of the 

 head and reaching back onto the temples. The antenna' are well de- 

 veloped for the Liotheidae and in all specimens taken are carried ex- 

 posed. Pharyngeal sclerite (fig. 1 d) present, conspicuous, with an- 

 terior processes much prolonged forward and but slightly diver- 

 gent, as in Menopon and Colpoccphalum. Thorax narrow, the 

 thorax rounded and the metathorax continuous with the narrow, 

 elongated abdomen. Abdomen well clothed with many long hairs; 

 last segment in female somewhat truncate, but in the male rounded 

 and protruding. Genitalia inconspicuous, apparently consi^tin- of 

 two short, curving, flat blades. 



Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, Vol. 61, No. 23. 



