ON THE GENUS PHLEBOTOMUS. — PART IV. 307 



Phlebotomus perniciosus, Newstead. 



Macedonia: near Salonica, 1918, 26 ^^, 9 $? {Capt. J. Waterston), Caucasia : 

 Borzham, Province of Tiflis, 16.vm.l919, 8 (J^J, 3 $$ (Dr. Kandelaki, per 

 Dr. B. Uvarov). 



Phlebotomus sergenti, Parrot. 



Phlebotomus sergenti, Parrot, Bull. Soc. Path. Exot. x, pp. 564-567, figs. 1-11 

 (1917). 



Phlebotomus caucasicus, Marzinovsky, Medical Review, Moscow, Ixxxvii, nos, 

 13-14-15-16, pp. 612-614 (1917). 



A large species somewhat resembling P. papatasii (Scop.) in colour and in the 

 general arrangement of the body hairs. But the male of P. sergenti is abundantly 

 distinct and may be recognised from aU other species by the unique character 

 of the genitalia, in which the great length of the sub-proximal spine on the superior 

 claspers should serve at once to distinguish it from all the species possessing paired 

 brushes {peniculi) of non-deciduous hairs between the superior claspers proximally. 

 On the other hand, it is extremely difficult to give taxonomic characters for the 

 separation of the female from that of P. papatasii. In a typical example of P. sergenti, 

 generously presented to me by M. Parrot, I fail to find any structural difierence 

 by which it could be separated from the $ of P. papatasii, though it is decidedly 

 smaller ; and this applies also to the female of the variety herein described from 

 Mesopotamia. In the females from Persia, however, the geniculated spines of 

 the antennae are slightly longer than those on the corresponding segments in the 

 African examples before me ; and in one example the spines are also accompanied 

 by a somewhat lunular-shaped, subcutaneous structure (? gland), which no staining 

 has hitherto revealed in any of my preparations. On the other hand, the males 

 from the two widely separated regions agree in all their morphological details 

 and are clearly conspecific. There is, I think, no doubt also that the African and 

 Caucasian species are one and the same. 



Marzinovsky {I.e.) notes the close affinity of his P. caucasicus with P. sergenti, 

 Parrot, but claims that it is distinguished from the latter in some details. These 

 " details " are, however, not traceable either in his diagnosis or in his figure of the 

 male genital armature. Thanks to Col. C. M. Wenyon I have been able to study 

 a direct photographic print of the male genital armature taken from the original 

 negative which was used by Marzinovsky in illustration of his paper, and this con- 

 firms my views as to the specific identity of the Caucasian with the African form. 



The following description is based upon material collected in N.E. Persia by Major 

 J. A. Sinton, V.C. :— 



Male. — Palpi of five segments ; 2nd and 4th about equal in length ; the 3rd 

 a little longer than the 2nd, laterally incrassate, the incrassation seen only in dorso- 

 ventral view ; sensorium well marked by the relatively large clubbed hairs ; 5th 

 a little more than twice the length of the 4th. Antennae with the distal end of 

 the 3rd segment almost reaching to the tip of the proboscis ; the tips of the paired 

 geniculated spines on segments 3-15, inclusive, reaching a point very slightly 

 in advance of the centre of all the segments with the exception of the 3rd. Wing 



