NOTES ON THE MAPUTALAND EXPEDITION. 
(21th May to 3rd July, 1914.) 
By Dr. H. G. Breijer. 
The primary object of the expedition was to get specimens for the 
Transvaal Museum, Pretoria, and the Provincial Museum, Lourengo 
Marques, the second to investigate which animals were infected with 
trypanosomiasis parasites, and the third to get as much information 
as possible about bloodsucking Diptera, especially about Tabanidae 
and Stomoxyidae. 
The results in connection with blood parasites were negative. 
None of the animals of which bloodsmears were taken showed signs of 
trypanosomiasis parasites, and none of the rabbits which were injected 
with blood from srame animals showed infection. 
No Tabanids were found. All the Diptera collected belonged to 
the Muscidae, Trypetidae, and Culicidae. 
It was highly remarkable to find the game in general free from 
parasites. Whilst in the Transvaal most buck have a great number 
of intestinal worms, all the buck shot at this expedition were free from 
them and from external parasites. Mallopliaga were absent as well. 
Even the game birds were not infested with them. Ticks were only 
found on elephant, rhinoceros, and hippopotamus. The elephant was 
host to a very great number of them, the rhinoceros had them only 
round the anus and in the inguinal region, whilst the hippopotamus 
only had a few on the ears. Unfortunately the ticks collected on the 
elephant and hippopotamus were lost during a heavy storm which blew 
the tent away. They looked very much the same as those found on 
the rhinoceros, i.e. Rhipicephalus slums (C. L. Koch), Dermacentor 
rhinocerotis, and Amblyomma petersi (Karsch). On a black mamba, 
Dendraspis angusticeps , a tick belonging to the Ixodes genus was 
found, which has not been identified and will probably be a new 
species. 
Another remarkable point was the apparent absence of small 
carnivorous animals and rodents. During our journey large numbers 
of traps of various designs were set, but the result was always nil. 
Not even footprints of small cats, etc., were found, and one is almost 
forced to think that they are really absent in this part of Maputaland. 
Hyaenas and lions were never heard or seen; no traces of wild dogs 
or other big carnivora were found ; and dead bodies of buck could be 
left in the bush or in the open veld without covering either during the 
night or day without any fear that carnivorous animals would spoil 
the skin. Even the practically ubiquitous vultures were absent- -at 
least we saw none and never found our game attacked by them. 
The only plausible reason for this scarcity in carnivorous life 
must be found, in my opinion, in the paucity of animals on which 
they could prey. In fact the parts visited by our party were not at 
all rich in game. There were elephants (perhaps fifty), several 
rhinoceroses, but, besides a few kudus, waterbucks, inyala’s reed- 
buck (which were mostly met with in the vicinity of Motope, near 
