618 THE HON. N. C. ROTHSCHILD ON [May 26,, 



P. echidnce is a more specialised species than the others. The 

 genal edge of the head is produced into a broad tooth -like lobe, 

 corresponding to the lobe found in the Sarcopsyllidce and in 

 Fai'iodontis Rothschild (1908) and LT/copsijUa Rothschild (1904), 

 and the comb of the pronotum is reduced to a few spines (4 to 6), 

 which are dorsal. The head of P. echidnce, moreover, is short, 

 bearing two regular rows of three bristles each on the frons, there 

 being no row of small bristles between the anterior corner of the 

 frons and the base of the antennal groove, as is the case in all 

 the other sjDecies of Pygiojjsylla {cf. PI. XXIX. fig. 7). It may 

 possibly become necessary to move echidnce from Pygio'psyUa and 

 place it in a new genus. For the present, however, there is no^ 

 necessity for this change. 



1. Pygiopsylla afer, sp. n. (Plate XXIX. figs. 7, 8.) 



Head.— The head (PI. XXIX. fig. 7) is gradually rounded, 

 the lower part of the frons not being curved back\\^rds {%. e. 

 towards the fore coxfe). The rostrum does not quite reach the 

 apex of the fore coxa. 



Thorax. — The pronotum bears a comb of 23 spines and two 

 rows of bristles. On the mesonotum there are 4 rows of bristles, 

 the anterior row being abbreviated and there being also some 

 doi'sal bristles in front of this row. The mesopleura have 8 long 

 bristles and a few short ones. The metanotum bears 4 I'ows of 

 bristles, the first row consisting of but a few bristles situated on 

 the back. The epimerum of the mesothorax bears an irregular 

 anterior row of 7 or 8 bristles, a central row of 3, and a posterior 

 I'ow of 3 or 4 long and some short bristles. 



Abdomen. — The first tergite is practically hairy all over. The 

 other tergites bear 4 i-ows of bristles, the first row being rejire- 

 sented only by a few bristles on the fifth to seventh segments. 

 There is a stout apical spine on each side of tergites 2 to 5. The 

 basal sternite beai's an oblique patch of short bristles on the side, 

 consisting of 3 irregular rows. On the sternites of the third to 

 seventh segments there is a subapical row of 4 or 5 long bristles, 

 proximally to which are numerous small bristles. 



Legs. — The mid and hind femora bear on the outer side three 

 subapical venti-al hairs, which are of nearly equal size, there being 

 no other ventral hairs between these three and the widest point 

 of the femora. The hind tibia bears about 20 bristles on the 

 outside, arranged in three irregular rows, besides a number of 

 smaller bristles situated at and near the anterior edge of the tibia. 

 The first fore-tarsal segment is longer than the second and has 

 four thin and long bristles on the hinder side. The first 

 mid-tarsal segment is much longer than the second. The hind 

 tarsus is long, especially the first and second segments, the third 

 segment being longer than the fifth. The first and third jjairs of 

 lateral bristles of the fifth segment are moved towards the mesial 

 line, especially in the fore and mid tarsi. 



