Annals of the Teansvaal Museum. 
123 
RHIPICEPHALUS CAPENSIS. KOCH. 
The Cape Blown Tick. 
Rhipicephalus capensis (Koch, 1841, 3 817). 
Rhipicephalus capensis, Koch (Neumann, 1897). 
Plate V III, figure c; Plate IX, figure c ; Plate X, figure b. 
Male. — Body oval, widely rounded behind, in which part it is three 
times as wide as in front; length 3 to 5 mm. (including rostrum), width 
1.75 to 3.0 mm. Dorsal shield ( I 111, c) a little convex, shining, dark chest- 
nut brown in colour, covered with contiguous punctuations, which give it a 
.shagreened appearance ; a few large punctuations in anterior portion ; 
cervical grooves deep anteriorly, extending to the level of the eyes, which 
.are flat, large, and pale yellow ; lateral groove wide, deep, close to the 
margin, extending from the eyes to the separation of the two extreme 
festoons ; lateral margin also shagreened ; festoons distinct, shagreened, 
extreme festoons short, median ones elongate. Ventral surface glabrous, 
jellowish ; sexual orifice opposite the middle of coxae. II, followed by a 
whitish, strap-like appendage ; sexual grooves parallel ; anus opposite the 
middle of the stigmatic plates ; anal plates (IX, c) almost isosceles triangles, 
base rounded, dark brown in colour, slightly punctured; accessory anal plates 
•elongate and narrow, half as long as the anal plates ; festoons very plainly 
marked, each with a transverse spot of dark chestnut colour ; stigmatic 
plates large, whitish, elongate, comma-shaped. Rostrum dark brown in 
colour ; base almost as long as wide ; shagreened in the middle ; angles 
prominent ; palpi longer than wide ; article II wider than long ; a row 
of long stout hairs on the ventro-median margins of article II and III. 
Legs dark brown, strong ; coxae typical, coxae II, III, and IY, each with 
two short teeth on their posterior margins ; coxae I with two very long 
sharp teeth ; tarsi short, two consecutive spurs, except on tarsi I. 
Female. — Body elongate, oval ; a little wider behind than in front ; 
5 mm. long by 2.7 mm. wide. Shield (X, b) almost as wide as long ; sides 
rounded ; reaches the middle of the body in unengorgecl specimens ; dark 
•chestnut brown in colour ; punctuations confluent making surface 
shagreened, except on the lateral margins ; cervical grooves reach almost 
to the middle of the shield ; marginal grooves reach to the posterior 
margin ; eyes flat, shiny, pale yellow in colour, a little behind the 
middle, of the length of the shield. Dorsal surface, dark brown in colour, 
glabrous, coarsely shagreened by undulating, irregular transverse 
folds, crossing two short longitudinal grooves and three long 
posterior grooves ; marginal groove well marked, as also the festoons, 
which are separated by slightly sinuous grooves. Ventral surface 
shagreened like the dorsal surface, and of same colour ; festoons plain, 
elongate. Rostrum with base wider than long ; posterior angles only 
slightly projecting ; hypos tome with six rows of teeth ; palpi elongate, 
article II as wide as Ions’, dorso-median margin longer than the dorso- 
lateral margin ; aTtiele III as? wide' as long ; a fringe of stout hairs on 
the ventro-median margin of articles I and II. Legs more slender than 
in the male ; otherwise similar to those of the male. 
Hosts. — Cattle, goat, dog, horse, Varanus saurus. 
Habitat. — Namaqualand, Cape Colony. Transvaal. 
