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ON A WIDELY DISTRIBUTED GAMASID MITE (LEIOGNATHUS 

 MORSITANS, SP. N.), PARASITIC ON THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 



By Stanley Hirst. 

 (Published by permission of the Trustees of the British Museum.) 



The species of Leiognathus described below apparently has a very wide distribution 

 in Africa and is also found in Mauritius, China, India and South America. It seems 

 indeed to be the common blood- sucking Gamasid mite of poultry in these countries. 

 As it is highly probable that this parasite transmits spirochaetosis, and perhaps other 



Fig. 1. Leiognathus morsitans, Hirst ; dorsal view of female. 



diseases of the fowl, it is desirable that further information about its distribution 

 and life-history should be obtained. Two instances of this mite attacking man are 

 recorded below in the list of localities. 



Prof. Antonio Berlese has described a species of fowl mite from Buenos Aires under 

 the name Leiognathus bursa which may be the same as the one dealt with in this note ; 

 his description is very short, however, and leaves me in much doubt on this point. 



