ALECTOROBIUS 



709 



Ornithodoros canestrinii Birula, 1895. 

 Synonym.— .4 ?'g<3;s canestrinii Birula, 1895. 



Found in Persia. Male 10 by 5 millimetres; female 14 by 8 

 millimetres. 



Alectorobius Pocock, 1907. 



Argasidae with folds of integument capable of being folded under 

 the palpi. This genus is not recognized by Nuttall, as he considers 

 it a synonym of Ornithodoros. 



Type.— ^. talaje Guerin-Meneville, 1849. 



Alectorobius talaje Guerin-Meneville, 1849. 



Synonyms.— O. talaje Guerin and Meneville, 1849 ; 0. rudis Karsch, 

 1880; Alectorobius talije Pocock, 1907. 



This is the chinch of South America and Mexico, where it is a 

 great pest. A. coniceps of South Europe and A. capensis of South 

 Africa are varieties of this species. 



Family 2 : Ixodid^ Murray, 1877. 



Synonyms.— Duges, 1834; Ixodiden Koch, 1844; Ixodides 

 Gervais and van Beneden, 1859; Ixodini Canestrini and Fanzago, 

 1877; IxodincBTrouQS^dirt, 1892; Anistomata Marx, 1892. 



Ixodoidea with a dorsal scutum and a terminal capitulum. The 

 digit of the mandible has two apophyses, and the palpi are free. 



Most of the ticks belong to this family, which has the following 

 features : — 



Morphology. — 'There is a dorsal scutum and a terminal capitulum. 

 The mandible has a digit with two apophyses, of which the internal 

 is short with one to four teeth, and the external long, with two 

 to five teeth. The palpi are free. The second pair of legs is the 

 shortest, and the fourth pair the longest. The tarsus has a pul- 

 villum. The stigmata are situate posterior to the coxa of the fourth 

 leg. The male is smaller and fatter than the female. The scutum 

 covers the whole dorsum except a marginal region, the posterior 

 portion of which, between the two stigmata, is generally divided 

 into eleven festoons. The female has but a small scutum, situated 

 anteriorly, and the capitulum has two symmetrical porose areas on 

 its basal piece. 



Type (x^m,— Ixodes Latreille, 1796. 



Life-History of the Ixodidae— When the pregnant female tick 

 drops off the host, it at first appears to seek for a suitable place to 

 lay its eggs. When this is found, it becomes quiescent, and the 

 anterior part of the ventral surface between the first pair of legs 

 becomes depressed, and forms a hollow, in which the head and 

 genital orifice are situated. When an ovum passes out of the orifice, 

 the tick moves slightly backwards. This oviposition takes about 

 fifteen to twenty days. While it is proceeding the tick begins to 



