162 



AnjsTAls of the Teafsyaal Museum. 



prominent ; anns at posterior tliird of lengtli of bod}^ four spines on eacli 

 valve, three on circumference and one near opening ; anal groove V 

 shape ; no genital pore ; genital grooves beginning opposite coxae III^ 

 diverging and extending to penultimate festoonal grooves ; stigmatic plates 

 slightly elongate^ transversely, ver}^ far caudad of coxae IV ; apparently a 

 pair of stigmatic openings opposite first inter-coxal space, near lateral 

 margin. Bostrum {XVI, li, i) dorsal base narrow, twice as wide as long ; 

 posterior points not prominent ; article I of palpi concealed ; article 11 

 wider than long, projecting sharply laterally backward, projecting tooth 

 on dorsal surface blunt and wide, on ventral side sharper and longer ; 

 article III conicle and pointed at tips ; article IV papilliform, in a pit on 

 the ventral side of article III ; hypostome spatulate, Avith two rows of 

 teeth on each half ; mandibles {XYI, I'), with inner apophysis lunulate, 

 outer apophysis with two large teeth surmounted by two small teeth on a 

 separate articulation. Legs slender ;' coxae wide; rectangular; a very 

 large blunt spine on posterior edge of coxae I, a ver}^ faint spine on coxae 



II, III, and IV ; tarsi elongate, no terminal spur. 



Larva (unengorged). — Bodi/ broadly ovate, widely rounded behind,, 

 length 0.5 mm. ; width 0.3 mm ; colour light yellowish ; caudal festoons 

 well marked. Dorsal sliield wider than long, covers anterior third of body ; 

 cervical grooves faint ; punctuations fine and evenly distributed ; no eyes. 

 Bostrum with base narrow, wider than long ; posterior angles not pro- 

 minent ; palpi as wide as long ; article I concealed^ article II as in nymph ; 

 articles III and IV as in nymph ; hypostome as in nymph ; anus near 

 posterior margin. Ventral surface with stigmatic openings as follows : — - 

 One pair behind coxae I, another behind coxae II, and a third behind corae 



III. Legs stout ; coxae rectangular, contiguous short tooth on. coxae I; 

 tarsi slender, no terminal spur. 



Lggs of small size ; light greyish in colour ; elliptical in outline^, 

 surface smooth and sliining ; about 0.5 mm. long by 0.3 mm wide. 



Hosts. — Dog, cat, ox, leopard, lion, genette, civette {Fells ijardius), 

 hedgehog {Erinaceus frontalis in Transvaal), jackal (Felis tigris), carnivora. 

 in general, and in Xew South Wales it has been taken on horses and cattle.. 

 At Pretoria several nymphs were taken from the field rat, Avicanthus 

 pnmillio, and one nymph from a tortoise. 



Ilahitat. — Egypt, Eastern Ethiopia, Abyssinia, Mahal, Korz Mountains,. 

 Algeria, Sierra Leone, French Congo, Congo, Cameroon Mountains, Cape 

 Colou}^, Orange Elver Colony, Ttansvaal, Mocambique, German East Africa, 

 ^^"ew South Wales (probably a variety). 



This is the commonest tick found on the dog in South Africa. Louns- 

 bury says it is confined to the grass veld districts and the coast veld of 

 Cape Colony, but I have found it in nearly every ^^art of the Transvaal, in 

 both grass veld, bush veld, and low veld. It attacks nearly all carnivora^ 

 but rarely any other group of mammals, being found only very rarely on 

 cattle, even where mast abundant. It transmits the distemper or 

 malignant jaundice of dogs. 



