Annals of the Transvaal Museum. 



79 



infested fowl-lioiise this loss is often so great as to cause fowls to die in 

 large numbers. Travellers in the Middle Ages frequently referred to tliis 

 tick as causing sickness, and even death, to human beings in Persia. In 

 fact it frequently became so numerous in houses in that country as to 

 make it necessary for entire villages to move and construct new dwellings 

 elsewhere. 



AEGAS VESPERTILIONIS, LATREILLE. 



Carios vespertilionis, Latreille (1796). 

 Carls vespertilionis, Latreille (180J:). 

 Argas fisrJieri, Audouin (1827). 

 Ari/(is pi pist reiki', Audouin (1832).. 

 Caris vespertilionis, Gervais (18t1:-1). 

 Caris elliptica, Kolenati (1857). 



Caris loiH/iiiKi na, Koleuati (1857). . . . \ 



Caris (lecnssiifa^ Koleuati (1857). 

 Caris i lie rill is, Kolenati (1857). 



Ari/as fisclieri^ (ieorge (1876). . ■ ' > 



Anjas jii j)isireUa\ Westwood (1877). 



Ar(/as resperfilinnis (Latreille) (Xeiiinauu. 1806). 



Plate /, figures li to p ; Plate If, figures p to to. 

 Female {I, in). — Bodij nearly circular, often somew^iat wider than 

 long (9.5 mm. wide by 8.5 mm. long) ; posterior edge in some cases 

 nearly straight ; anterior edge terminating in a point and produce;! 

 into a narrow hood covering the rostrum ; colour dark greyish blue 

 when fully engorged, when not it is yellowish brown, lighter about the 

 edges; legs light brown; integument roughened with numerous 

 papillae ; on the margin a ])order of elongate, quadrangular plates 

 each with a short hair (/, o) ; irregularly disposed, narrower 

 anteriorly ; numerous shiny pits on the dorsal surface near the anterior 

 third, two pits far apart, in front of them another pair further apart 

 and another pair still more anterior and further apart, two rows of 

 small pits extending anteriorly l)etweeii these large pits ; from 

 posterior pair of pits a V-shaped groove opening anteriorly and 

 continued posteriorly by a single groove to posterior third ; on each 

 side of this single groove is a very large deep pit Avith a smaller one 

 more anterior, a wide row, two or three deep, of shiny pits extending 

 along inner edge of margin, and from this numerous rows of pits, 

 alternately long and short, extending inwards as if radiating from 

 the centre. Ventral surface ^\\^\\ a pair of well marked genital 

 grooves and a narrow marginal groove with pits in their depth ; 

 radiating rows of i)its as on dorsal surface. Genital pore elongate 

 transversely and narrow, opposite posterior margun of Coxae I; anus 

 just posterior to Coxae IV, elliptical, no spines surrounding it, but 

 six spines on the edge of each valve; stigmatic plates uniform^, 

 opposite Coxae IV. Rostrum concealed under dorsal hood and set in 

 a pit, into which it can be retracted; base rectangular, much larger 

 than wide; hypostome, conical, a single row of sharp teeth extending 

 along the lateral edges, increasing in size from anterior to posterior 

 part; mandibles (//, s) very elongate and narrovr, at least twice as 

 long as those of male, process of inner apophysis lacking, outer 

 apophysis bidentate ; palpi very short, article I somewhat longer than- 



