1931] 
Notes on Hippoboscidae 
189 
(3) The bare-throated guan, Penelope purpurascens Wag- 
ler, “cojolito” in Spanish and “Kosh” in Maya (according 
to Gaumer), is very rare in Quintana Roo. (4) The chacha 
or chachalaca, Ortalis vetula pallidiventris Ridgway, 
“Bach” in Maya, a much smaller bird than the others, is 
abundant, particularly in Quintana Roo. 2 
The main interest of these birds and their fly parasites 
lies in their possible connection with the etiology of “bay- 
sore” or human cutaneous leishmaniasis, a disease of man 
in the humid, densely forested areas of the Yucatan Penin- 
sula (Territory of Quintana Roo and the southeastern part 
of the State of Campeche), British Honduras (Belize), and 
Guatemala (Peten). As a rule the sores are found on ex- 
posed parts of the body, and they are particularly frequent 
on the ears. It can hardly be doubted that some biting in- 
sect is the transmitter, but no experiments have as yet been 
published showing which particular species is involved. 
Various insects are blamed by the inhabitants of the in- 
fected regions. One opinion which enjoys much local popu- 
larity, in Yucatan and northern Guatemala, incriminates 
the bird-fly of the ocellated turkey or of the bare-throated 
guan. During my visit at Merida, Dr. Abalardo Lara N. 
showed me some specimens of the fly in question, in which 
I recognized Olfersia coriacea. He also stated that he had 
transmitted leishmaniasis through the bite of this fly and 
exhibited some photographs to support his claim. 1 This 
theory deserves, at any rate, to be investigated with 
care; even though it seems more likely that in Yucatan, as 
elsewhere in the New World, cutaneous leishmaniasis is 
transmitted by one or more species of Phlebotomus. 
2 1 am under great obligations to Mr. Ludlow Griscom for valuable 
information concerning these birds. The Spanish names here given 
for the various gallinaceous birds apply only to Yucatan. In other 
parts of Central America they may be used for different birds. I 
have been unable to find out which species is known more specially 
as “faisan,” a name sometimes heard in Yucatan. 
1 A discussion of the possible carriers of human leishmania sores 
in Central America has been given by Farfan y Lopez, E. 1922. “La 
leishmaniosis americana o ‘ulcera de los chicleros.’ ” (Merida, Yuca- 
tan), 27 pp. Page 13 of this pamphlet shows a reproduction of a 
photograph of Olfersia coriacea , in ventral and dorsal aspect. 
