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



1838 ; Rhynchoprionidae Baker, 1906, based on Rhynchoprion Oken, 

 1815, = Tung a Jarocki, 1838 ; Hectoropsyllidae Oudemans, 1906, 

 based on Eectoropsyllus Oudemans, 1906, = Eectopsylla Frauen- 

 feldt, 1860; Dermatophilidae Oudemans, 1906, based on Dermato- 

 philus Guerin, 1839, = Tunga Jarocki, 1838; and Tungidae, appar- 

 ently first used by C. Fox (§3, p. 130) in 1925 and based on Tunga. 



Key to the North American Genera of Hectopsyllidae 



Coxa III with a patch of spinelets on inner surface ; abdominal segments II and 

 III each with a pair of spiracles. Occurring chiefly in tropical and sub- 

 tropical regions of the World 



Echidnophaga Olliff. 



Coxa III without a patch of spinelets ; abdominal segments II and III of female 

 without spiracles. Restricted to the warmer regions of Asia and Africa and 

 to tropical America 



Tunga Jarocki. 



The Genus Echidnophaga Olliff 



(Pig. 13, C) 



Echidnophaga Olliff, 1S86, Linn. Soc. N. S. Wales, Proc. (2) 1: 171. Monotypic. 



Type, Echidnophaga amoulans Olliff. 

 Argopsylla Enderlein, 1903, Deutsches Tief— See Exped. 1898-99, v. 3, p. 263. 



Monotypic. Type, Sarcopsylla gallinacea Westwood. 

 Xestopsylla Baker, 1904, U. S. Natl. Mus. Proc. 27 : 373. Monotypic. Type, 



Sarcopsylla gallinacea Westwood. 



Front angulate along anterior margin, but not produced into a tubercle. 

 Maxilla triangular, sharply pointed at apex, and largely concealed within head. 

 Labial palpus very poorly pigmented and scle.rotized, indistinctly segmented, and 

 closely ensheathing the large mandibles. Eyes large, black, without anterior 

 marginal incision. Hind coxa with a patch of spinelets on inner surface. Femur 

 III without toothlike projection at its base. Plantar bristles on segment V of 

 each tarsus of the usual kind, being short, well pigmented, and composing 4 

 pairs. Abdominal segments II and III each with a pair of spiracles. Sternum 

 VIII of male enlarged, broad, without long setae and posterior lobes, and com- 

 pletely overlapping sternum IX. Sternum IX of male with conspicuous anterior 

 apophysis, a pair of inner vertical processes, and a pair of simple, slender, 

 curved, posterior processes. 



Type species. — A monotypical genus with Echidnophaga ambulans 

 Olliff as type. 



Echidnophaga gallinacea (Westwood) 



(Fig. 13, C) 



Sarcopsyllus gallinaceus Westwood, 1875, Ent. Monthly Mag. 11 : 246. 

 Pulex pullulorum Johnson, 1S90, Wash. Ent. Soc. Proc. 1 : 204. 

 Echidnophaga gallinacea Jordan and Rothschild, 1906, Liverpool Univ., Thompson 

 Yates and Johnson Lab. Rpts. (n. s.) 7 : 52. 



Type host. — "Domestic fowl." 



Type locality. — Columbo, Ceylon. 



Range. — Widely distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions 

 of the world, including Australia. In North America found 

 throughout the southern part of the United States and permanently 

 established as far north as Virginia and Kansas. Occasionally in- 

 troduced into the Northern States but not known to be established 

 there. In North Carolina Shaftesbury (69) examined 38 collections 

 of this flea taken from 39 counties and found that its distribution 

 approximated the extent of the Lower Austral Life Zone. 



