ON SOME NEW ACARINE PARASITES OF RATS. 



189 



spindle-shaped, the stalk being quite short. Ocular shield obsolete and very incon- 

 spicuous ; usually only a single distinct circular eye can be seen on each side. A 

 lateral hair is placed on each side of the dorsal surface, almost opposite (slightly 

 behind) the hairs of the third pair on the scutum. Two hairs on each side are placed 

 in a line with the fourth pair on the scutum, so as to make a transverse series of six 

 hairs. Nexb come three transverse series, each composed of eight hairs ; the outer 

 hair on each side being sometimes placed further back than the others. There are 

 also some hairs at the hinder end of the body. Ventral surface. Coxae each with a 

 single hair. Numerous hairs are present on the posterior half of the low^er surface 

 of the body and they are arranged as shown in figure 8 ; those near the middle are 

 of small size, but the posterior ones are long ; all are distinctly feathered. Fang of 

 chelicera large, curved and very sharply pointed ; it is furnished with a little ventral 



Fig. 7. Schdngastiella bengalensis, Hirst, sp. n. ; dorsal aspect. 



tooth situated just before the end. Palp sahent and angular externally ; hairs on 

 its dorsal surface of moderate length and, apparently, they are not feathered ; tibia 

 with only a single ventral hair ; claw forked, the accessory branch small ; tarsus 

 with a httle blunt rod-like hair, and four (sometimes only three ?) feathered hairs. 

 Legs rather short. Besides the feathered hairs, the follomng plain hairs are present 

 on the legs : — The patella of the first leg has one or two moderately long plain hairs ; 

 tibia dorsally with a plain hair of moderate length and also a slender rod-hke apical 

 hair ; tarsus with a fairly stout rod-like hair and the usual stiff hair is present on 

 the summit of the hump ; a very minute hair is also present on each of the three 

 distal segments of this limb. Hairs on second leg very similar to those on the first. 

 There is a fine unfeathered hair on the patella of the third leg ; the rest of the hairs 

 on the distal segments of this limb apparently are distinctly feathered, some of them 



