THE FLEAS FOUND ON DOMESTIC HATS AND MICE. 95 



4. C. penicilliger, Grube*. The protlioracic comb consists o£ 20-22 spines. 

 The moA-able process o£ the clasper o£ the (^ is widest proximally to the 

 centre and bears hero at the hind edge two short, thick, obtuse spines ; 

 between these spines and the tip o£ the movable process there are two shorty 

 but rather strong, pointed bristles, the lower one pointing downwards and 

 the upper one upw-ards. The eighth sternite is long and bears two very long 

 bristles at the tip. The. sternite o£ the seventh abdominal segment of the 9 

 is, on each side, divided by a very shallow sinus into two rounded lobes. — 

 Found on rodents and small carnivora in Europe and North Asia; one 

 specimen taken off iMus norwegicus at Eannoch, Scotland. This flea, like 

 Ctenophtltalmus agyrtes, is very common on field-mice in England. 



5. C. niger, Fox. The comb o£ the prothorax consists o£ at least 28 sphies. 

 The sternite of the eighth abdominal segment of the male is long and rod-like 

 and bears a number o£ long bristles at the apex (fig. 23) ; (this sternite is 

 practically lost in fasc'iatus and londinieyisis). The receptaculum seminis of 

 the female is long and slender, the proximal portion being but little wider 

 than and almost twice the length o£ the distal portion, while in the two 

 above-mentioned species the proximal portion is short and globular. — A bird- 

 flea from California, but also occurring on rats. 



9. Genus Pygiopsylla, Rothsch. 



A number of species are known from the tropical countries of the eastern 

 hemisphere, two being recorded from rats. Specimens of both these fleas 

 have been sent from Australia labelled " from Miis rattus "; but subsequent 

 examinations of large numbers of this animal in the same locality have not 

 yielded any more. As both fleas are common on Miis assimiUs, a purely 

 Australian animal, it is probable that the hosts called rattus were really 

 assim'ilis. 



1. P. hilli, Rothsch. The sternite of the third abdominal segment in the 

 S bears on the two sides together about 20, or fewer, slender hairs in front 

 of the postmedian row of long bristles; the movable process of the clasper is 

 about half as long again as the non-moAable process. In the ? the anal 

 sternite (fig. 15) is notched beneath. — Australia. 



2. P. rainbowi, Rothsch. A larger species. In the S the sternite of the 

 third abdominal segment bears on the two sides tooether more than 40 hairs 

 in front of the postmedian row of long bristles ; the movable process of the 



* Dr. C. Tiraboscbi, and others following him, have erroneously recorded C. coiisimilU^ 

 AVagner, C. layomys, Wagner, and C. nuisteld', Dale, as being found on rats in Europe. 



