144 
Annals of the Trahsvaal -Museum. 
margins, slightly elliptical, with elongation extending postero-laterally ; aims 
at posterior third of length. Rostrum (XIII, li) short, dark brown in colour ; 
dorsal surface of base triangular in outline ; palpi elongate and slender ; 
article II more than twice as long as article III ; hypostome spatulate, 
denticles on. its tip, followed on each half by one row of four teeth, then 
by six or seven rows of strong teeth, two to a row, squamose denticles to 
base ; mandibles with process of inner apophysis of digit tridentate, outer 
apophysis bidentate, with two small denticles on anterior edge of anterior 
tooth. Legs short, slender, dark reddish brown in. colour ; coxae each 
with a wide, sharply pointed spine on the posterior margin ; tarsi short 
and thick, not sharply attenuated at terminus. 
Larva (unengorged). — Colour light yellowish brown, shield darker, 
oval in outline, slightly longer than wide ; length 0.75 mm., width 0.50 
mm. Shield covers anterior third of body, much wider than long, broadly 
rounded behind, surface reticulated ; cervical grooves deep and straight, 
almost reaching the posterior margin ; no marginal groove ; cervical 
emargination very deep ; eyes flat, at lateral angles, small, yellowish. 
Dorsal surface (XIII, k) with a long median groove ; a marginal groove 
extending all round the body, forming the limit of the festoons, and in 
dried specimens causing the edge of the body to turn up sharply ;, festoons 
large, well marked. Ventral surface (XIII, i) with three posterior grooves, 
radiating from the anus, which is anterior of the posterior third ; festoons 
well marked ; marginal groove not marked ; . stigmatic openings large in 
three pairs, one pair posterior of each pair of coxae. Rostrum wide and 
narrow on dorsal surface; lateral angles sharply pointed, posterior margin 
straight ; articulated with shield by a very long neck ; ventral surface 
more or less rectangular in outline, lateral angles not prominent ; lrypostome 
spatulate, with denticles at tip, then four rows of large sharp teeth, seven 
teeth in each row ; mandibles (XIII, g) with outer apophysis bidentate, 
the anterior . margin of the anterior tooth bearing a crest composed of 
two larger teeth, on the inner edge of them a row of saw teeth ; inner 
apophysis with process tridentate ; palpi long and slender, article I very 
short, cylindrical ; articles II and III of about equal length, swollen 
at their anterior ends ; article II very much constricted at its base, 
anterior half and article III concave on their inner edges. Legs thick, 
almost translucent in colour ; coxae large, well separated from each 
other, coxae I triangular, coxae II and III rectangular in outline, each 
with two wide blunt teeth on posterior margin, almost unnoticeable on 
coxae III ; tarsi normal. 
Eggs . — Small, elliptical, surface smooth and shining ; 0.75 mm. 
long by 0.3 mm. wide ; colour light reddish brown, singhg but in a mass 
dark reddish brown. 
Hosts.—' Tortoise, rhinoceros (Rhinoceros ' lucerius), snakes. Larvae 
and nymphs also feed readily on ox and goat, and on some kinds of birds 
and lizards. 
Habitat. — Cape Colony. Transvaal, German Fast Africa, British East 
Africa, Zanzibar, Throer Zambesia. 
This tick is a very common narasite on tortoises in South Africa. 
It does not seem to be influenced bv climatic conditions to the- same 
extent as the two last-mentioned species, being found alike in the dry, 
semi-desert regions, and in regions of abundant rainfall. Xymphs and 
adults are found' in large- number's on tortoises. 
