104 
Antals of the Transvaal Museum 
margin of coxae I, a smaller one on coxae II, ancl one almost obsolete 
on coxae III. (Engorged) Body broadly oval, slightly longer than 
broad ; colour dark bluish grey, except a round shield at anterior end, 
which is; dirty yellow; no grooves on either surface. Shield becomes 
entirely of a reddish brown colour. Length 1.5 mm., width 1.3 nun. 
Eggs. — Very small, light brownish in colour, elliptical in outline, 
surface smooth, 0.5 mm. long by 0.3 mm. wide. 
Hosts. — The hosts are much the same as for the type. Adults 
attack nearly all warm-blooded animals, and are common on ox, 
sheep, goat, horse, dog, hare, and even ostriches, fowls and man ; it 
prefers the feet and under parts of such animals. The larvae and 
nymphs feed on the heads of fowls, birds, hares, rabbits, and have 
frequently been taken from the ostrich. 
Distribution. — This variety seems to be very common throughout 
the greater part of South Africa, usually in greater numbers than the 
type. I have received it from Cape Colony, Natal, and the Transvaal, 
and Neumann reports it from Senegal. 
This tick is found even in the driest parts of South Africa, and 
unfed adults may be frequently found moving about the ground or 
hidden under bark of trees at outspans. It is one of the ticks w r ith 
two hosts; the larvae and nymph requiring only one host; the newly 
transformed nymph settles down next to the old larval skin without 
dropping from the host. The whole life-cycle probably occupies a 
year. 
HYALOMMA HIPP'OPOTAMENSE, ( DENN1 .) 
The Hippopotamus Tick. 
Ixodes liiggogotamensis (male), Denny (1843). 
Ixodes bimaculatus (female), Denny (1843). 
Amblyomma higgogotami, Koch (1844, 1847). 
Amblyomma higgogotamense (Denny), (Neumann 1899). 
Hyalomma higgogotamense (Denny), (Neumann 1906). 
Plate 1 1 , figure m. 
Male. — Body in a short oval, widely rounded behind, 5.8 nun. 
long by 5.3 mm. wide. Dorsal shield shining, convex, with punctua- 
tions unequal, rare, a few large and deep; no marginal groove nor 
posterior festoons; cervical grooves deep in front, prolonged behind to 
the limits of a pseudo-shield like that of the female ; general colour 
of the shield clear, ochre yellow, or dirty yellowish white with linear 
designs and punctuations deep brown ; the designs consist of a line 
which cuts off a space like a female shield and expands to the level 
of the eyes; two lines follow the cervical grooves and delimit a violin- 
shaped space; behind the limit of this pseudo-shield a fine transverse 
line, ending in two oblique spots; from the margin extend short, 
radiating lines, three of which join at each side to a longitudinal, 
discontinued line; those of the posterior margin represent the limits 
of the absent festoons ; the median is prolonged to the transverse line, 
which is crossed at the level of the stigmatic plates by a transverse 
band; eyes small, whitish, hemispherical. Ventral surf ace (/ 1 , m) 
