90 MISC. PUBLICATION 5 00, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



Gena much enlarged and extended dorsally in front of antennal groove. Eyes 

 greatly reduced or absent. Cephalic comb may be situated along anterior 

 margin of antennal groove and composed of as few as 2 or as many as 15 or 

 more spines. Hind coxa with or without a row or patch of spinelets on inner 

 surface. 



Nine genera are included in the subfamily, five being represented 

 in the North American fauna. 



The subfamily Leptopsyllinae dates from 1915, when Rothschild 

 {66 1 p. 80) proposed for the group the family name Leptopsyllidae. 

 Ctenopsyllinae Wagner, 1927, based on (Otenopsyllus Kolenati, 

 1863, not Kolenati, 1856) = Leptopsylla Jordan and Rothschild, 

 1911, is to be regarded as a synonym. Ctenopsyllidae Baker, 1905, 

 can hardly be regarded as a synonym, since the author included in it 

 the very unusual genus Stephanocircus Skuse. 



Key to North American Genera of Leptopsyllinae 



1. Cephalic comb with 2 or 4 spines ; abdominal terga without incrassations- 2 

 Cephalic comb with 5 or more flattened spines arranged in a row 



parallel or nearly so with anterior margin of antennal groove 3 



2. Cephalic comb with 2 spines Peromyscopsylla I. Fox 



Cephalic comb with 4 spines arranged in a row at about a right 



angle to anterior margin of antennal groove 



Leptopsylla Jordan and Rothschild. 



3. Five spines in cephalic comb; abdominal tergal plates without trans- 



verse incrassation ; no sexual dimorphism in pronotal comb 



Nearctopsylla Rothschild. 

 Six spines in cephalic comb 4 



4. Third spine from bottom in genal comb longer than the others and 



acuminate ; abdominal tergal plates with transverse incrassations 



Corypsylla C. Fox. 

 Third spine from bottom in genal comb not long and not acuminate; 

 abdominal tergal plates without transverse incrassations 



Corypsylloides Hubbard. 



The Genus Peromyscopsylla I. Fox 



Peromyscopsylla I. Fox, 1939, Wash. Ent. Soc. Proc. 41 : 47. Type, Ctenopsyllus 

 hesperomys Baker (by original designation). 



Head subangulate in front ; anterior margin with a series of bristles, some 

 of which may be heavily pigmented. Genal comb consisting of 2 spines varying 

 in size and shape according to species. Genal process usually conspicuous, vary- 

 ing in size and shape. Eyes vestigial. Labial pnlpus consisting of 5 segments. 

 Pronotum with a comb of many long, slender spines. Abdominal terga each with 

 1 to several apical spines. Coxa III without a patch or row of spinelets on inner 

 surface. Fifth tarsal segment of each leg with 4 pairs of lateral plantar bristles 

 and a basal ventral pair. 



This genus is represented in North America by eight species. 



Peromyscopsylla adelpha (Rothschild) 



Leptopsylla adelpha Rothschild, 1915, Novitates Zool. 22 : 304, fig. 4. 

 Peromyscopsylla adelpha Jellison and Good, 1942, U. S. Pub. Health Serv. Natl. 

 Inst. Health Bui. 178 : 121. 



Type host. — Mus sp. (mouse). 



Type locality. — Paradise, Ariz. 



Range.— Known only from Arizona. 



The original description of this species is accompanied by a figure 

 of the female sternal plate VII. Jordan and Rothschild (^9, p. 59) 

 published an illustration of the male terminalia in 1915. 



