New Species Of Flea Research Articles

A New Species of Chaetopsylla Kohaut, 1903, Infesting Pikas in Nepal (Siphonaptera: Vermipsyllidae)

A new species of Chaetopsylla Kohaut, 1903, is described from Royle's pika (Ochotona roylei Ogilby, 1839) collected in the central mountains of Nepal. Its phylogenetic affinities are discussed as well as the fact that this is the only member of the genus known from a noncarnivore host. Among the many new species of fleas collected during the Iowa State University Nepal Ectoparasite Survey is a series from Ochotona roylei Ogilby, 1839. In addition to belonging to an undescribed taxon, these fleas are peculiar in a number of ways. Unlike other members of the genus known to me, the sclerites of this species are a rich amber color rather than dark brown or black. There is little sexual dimorphism, and the females are only slightly larger than the males. The females show no tendency toward the expansion of the abdomen and the ultimate separation of the tergites and sternites, though many of the females were ovulating when collected. In addition to these peculiarities, this is the only member of the genus known to date that is not a specific parasite of a member of the Camivora. Chaetopsylla gracilis sp. n. (Figs. 1-5)

Descriptions of New Fleas from Nepal, with Notes on the Genus Callopsylla Wagner, 1934 (Siphonaptera: Ceratophyllidae)

Three new ceratophyllid fleas are described from collections made in Nepal. Callopsylla (Orneacus) fusca sp. n., an ectoparasite of certain passerine birds at high elevations, is a dark species much resembling some members of the genus Monopsyllus in the modified segments of the male. Both Citellophilus mygala sp. n. and C. atallahi sp. n. differ from most other members of the genus in the possession of a pair of short, spiniform setae on the caudal margin of the movable process of the male. They differ from each other in the shape of the movable process and the proportions of the apex of the ninth sternite. A brief history of the genus Callopsylla is presented and comparisons are made with closely related genera. Among the many new genera and species of ectoparasitic arthropods collected on the Nepal Ectoparasite Project are a number of new species of fleas. Three of these have been described elsewhere (Lewis, 1968, 1969, 1970), and descriptions for many others are in various stages of preparation. This paper deals with one new species of Callopsylla Wagner, 1934, and two new species of Citellophilus Wagner, 1934, genera that are exclusively Palaearctic in distribution. The species of these genera are predominantly parasites of small rodents and pikas, though a few are found on birds and small carnivores, and one is known only from the Siberian mole. Callopsylla (Orneacus) fusca sp. n. (Figs. 1-6)

A New Stenischia Jordan, 1932 (Siphonaptera: Hystrichopsyllidae) from the Sikkim Large-Clawed Shrew

A new species of flea belonging to the genus Stenischia (Hystrichopsyllidae) is described from Nepal. Comparisons are made with the two other species of the genus. It is suggested that members of this genus are primarily nest-inhabiting as adults, that they occur as adults mainly during the winter months, and that the genus as a whole shows a relict distribution. Among the ectoparasitic arthropods collected from Nepalese mammals and birds during the past 2 years are a number of new taxa. Many of these are closely related to presently known forms, both morphologically and geographically, and will require concentrated comparative studies before their relationships can be elucidated. The discovery of certain unique forms belonging to small, poorly known genera testifies to the paucity of our faunal knowledge of this fascinating area of the world and following is the description of one such species. Stenischia pagiana sp. n. (Figs. 1-6) Material Male holotype (8858) from Tarke Gyang, Helembu District, 49 km N Katmandu, Nepal, 2,430 m, from Soriculus nigrescens 3, 10 November 1967, R. M. Mitchell. Two male paratypes: 9248 from Uring Ghang, Bagmati Zone, Nuwakot District, 3,496. m, from Soriculus nigrescens, 1 September 1968, R. M. Mitchell; 9269, same data except 5 September 1968. Holotype deposited in the collection of the United States National Museum, Washington, D. C. Paratypes deposited in the author's collection. Received for publication 24 January 1969. * From Research Project N00014-68-A-0101-0001, Office of Naval Research, Navy Department, Washington, D. C. 20360 to Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. The opinions and assertions contained herein are the private ones of the author and are not to be construed as official or as reflecting the views of the Department of the Navy or the naval service at large. Journal Paper No. J-6044 of the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station, Ames, Iowa. Project No. 1715. Diagnosis Similar to Stenischia fujisania Sakaguti and Jameson, 1956, from Mt. Fuji, Japan, from which it differs in the possession of a narrower, more elongated movable process, 16 teeth in the pronotal ctenidium, and fewer setae on the inner surface of the hind coxae.

Two New Species of Fleas from Utah, with Notes on the Genus Ornithophaga Mikulin (Siphonaptera)

The two new species of fleas described in this paper are of unusual interest. The first belongs to the well-known genus Catallagia Rothschild (Hystrichopsyllidae: Neopsyllinae), but is notable for the extreme modification of the male genitalia, a condition not reflected in the female; the second, a bird flea, belongs to Ornithophaga Mikulin (Leptopsyllidae: Amphipsyllinae), a remarkable genus recently described from the U.S.S.R. on the basis of one female specimen.

A New Species of Flea from the Field Mouse, Baiomys Taylori

A large series of an apparently new flea has been taken from the field mouse, Baiomys taylori , in Lavaca County, Texas, in connection with an extensive murine typhus research program being conducted there by the Texas State Department of Health and the United States Public Health Service. Considering the small size of the Baiomys , the mice were heavily infested with this flea. During March and April, 1946, eighty-one fleas were combed from twenty-one of these mice.

Three New Species of Fleas from Dutch New Guinea

In 1931 a number of fleas was received from Mr Georg Stein, obtained in Dutch New Guinea. Among them were the three species described below. We are greatly indebted to Mr Stein for having made this collection.

On a new genus and species of Siphonaptera from Nyasaland

The Entomological Research Committee has received from Zomba four specimens of a new species of flea which is related to the genera Leptopsylla, Roths. (1911; type musculi, Dugès, 1832) and Palaeopsylla, Wagn. (1902; type minor, Dale, 1878 = gracilis, Tasch., 1880) but differs so much from the species belonging to these genera that it requires a separate genus. The species is especially remarkable for the development of its head and buccal organs (fig. 1). The mandibles as well as the labrum are very broad, particularly the former, and closely resemble those of Spilopsyllus cmiiculi, Dale (1878), and the Sarcopsyllidae. This peculiar parallelism also obtains in the labial palpi, which show a reduction similar to that which occurs in the fleas mentioned, being but feebly chitinized and consisting of only three distinct segments. The size of the labrum and mandibles suggests that the species fixes itself to the host by means of these organs in the same way as Spilopsyllus cunieuli, i.e., more permanently than do the majority of fleas. The structure of the head bears out this surmise inasmuch as the buccal slit extends far upwards, the frons being short, which allows the piercing organs to assume an almost horizontal position when being driven into the skin of the host.