A^fJSTALS OF THE TeANSVAAL MuSEUM. 



111 



Fuller made a careful study of tliese varieties, using the following 

 characters for com2)arison : — 



1. liirrows on dorsal shield of female. 



2. JN'umher of rows of teeth on the hypostonie. 



3. Form of the mandibles, especially inner apophysis 

 ■Jr. Extent of dorsal shield of male. 



5. Presence or absence of tail in male. 



The following tables show the relationship of the South African 

 varieties and the type as worked out by J^'uller :— 



J. l\irrows of dorsal shield of the femah' extending to the posterior 

 lateral margin — nnnulatus, and vars. defuJoraf.'fs and fiKstralis. 

 IJ. Hypostonie with eight rows of teeth — ti n iiu/al us and var. australis. 



Hypostonie with six rows of teeth — var. decoJornI iis. 

 Jll. Mandil)les with inner apophysis tricu-i)id — ;i n ii iihil us. 

 Mandibles with })rojections as well — var. dccolordlns. 

 Mandibles with inner apophysis tricuspid and presenting a 

 rounded projection — A-ar. aiistraUs. 

 lY. Male with shield extending to the posterior margin — annulatus, 



Y'dT. decoloratns, and var. australis. 

 V. Male with an indication of a tail — annulatus. 



Male with distinct, horny tail — var. decotoratus and var. austiudis. 

 Based upon these studies Fuller thought himself justified in re-estab- 

 lishing Koch's decoloratus, and in making the Australian type a distinct 

 species. 



Neumann, after a careful study of a very large quantity of material, 

 came to the conclusion that the above distinctions were insufficient from a 

 specific point of view, and decided to make them only varieties of the 

 original s-pecies^ an n utat us. He found that the hypostonie in the male bore 

 quite constantly eight rows of teeth, but in the female this nuniljer varied 

 more ; even in the varieties supposed to bear six or ten rows of teeth, he 

 found them frequently with a tendency to eight rows ; even in the type 

 itself there is a tendency to division. Idie conditions of the inner apophysis 

 of the mandible he found to vary consideraljly with the condition of the 

 preparation studied, and therefore he thought that the tricuspid appearance 

 was due to some tendon at the base, looking like a third tooth. He also 

 found the caudal prolongation in the male of australis sometimes almost 

 disappearing. 



I, myself, have been unable to find eight rows of teeth in decoloratus 

 or the third row dividing. 



MAEGAEOPUS LOUNSBUEA^I, NEUMANN. 

 Louj^sbuky's Tick. 

 Margaropus lounsburyi, Neumann (1907). 

 Plate \ II, figures a to e. 

 Male. — Body fiat, oval, with sides convex, wider near the middle of the 

 length, terminated behind by a conical prolongation, longer than Avide, 

 and wider than thick ; total length (from the anterior extremity of the 



