G. H. F. Nuttall 
49 
Argasidae 
Hosts and habitat etc. of Tick 
Geographical 
distribution 
(as far as known) 
A. bruvipti 
Porcupine: found infesting dusty burrows of 
Hystrix sp. in Africa. 
Africa. 
Man: attacks man when sleeping on the 
ground; hides in dust during the day-time. 
0. savignyi 
Man, camel, horse: attacks them in their rest¬ 
ing places, hides in dust or sand, etc. 
Africa, India. 
0. moubata 
Man: infests native dwellings and resting 
places along caravan routes. 
Africa. 
Domesticated animals : dogs, pigs kept in styes, 
goats, sheep. 
0. turicata 
Man: at times infesting native dwellings; 
attacks at night. 
N. & S. America. 
Domesticated animals: pigs in styes, cattle, 
llama, horse. 
Wild animals: infesting burrows of tortoise 
and gopher. 
0. talaje 
Man; infesting native houses; attacking at 
night. 
N. & S. America. 
0. talaje var. ca- 
pensis 
Birds: found in penguin’s and other nests. 
Islands of Cape 
Colony, St Paul’s 
IsL, Siren Isl. 
0. pavimentosus 
Man; resting places infested. 
Africa. 
0. tholozani ... 
Fowls and camels: infests chicken coops. 
Persia. 
0. lahorensis ... 
Sheep: no particulars as to manner in which 
sheep are kept. 
India. 
0. megnini 
Man and domesticated animals; horse, ass, 
ox, are all the hosts recorded; occurring 
chiefly in the ears. 
N. America. 
Of the foregoing species the life-histories of only five are known 
{A. persicus, A. refiexus, 0. moiihata, 0. savignyi, and 0. megnini), the 
ticks having been raised experimentally. The various stages of A. ves- 
pertilionis are known, and nymphal or adult stages (or both) of some 
of the other species are more or less known to science. In A. pei'sicus, 
A. 1 -eflexus, A. vespertilionis and 0. megnini the larvae attack the host. 
In 0. moubata and 0. savignyi, in which the eggs are correspondingly 
large, the larva is formed within the egg, but it is incapable of attacking 
a host; the larva in both of these species is inactive, and very soon 
after the egg-shell splits and whilst it remains in {moubata) or near 
{savignyi) the egg-shell it rapidly undergoes metamorphosis and emerges 
from the larval skin as a nymph. It is as a nymph that both the 
latter species first attack the host, 
Parasitojogy iv 
4 
