Aponomma species are more numerous in the Oriental Region than in Africa but their taxonomic status is uncertain. For Indo-china, Toumanoff (1944) lists three species, Anastos (1950) records four from Indonesia, and Roberts (1953) studied nine from Australia. None occur in Europe and Neumann's (1899) 10cality label for A. laeve from Patagonia was possibly incorrect. In the Americas, four species have been described by Schulze (1932A,1936E,1941x) but specimens available in collections throughout the world are few indeed. Specific concepts in this genus are much in need of careful study.

Ornamentation of A. exornatum is entirely lost in some preserved specimens. If a question arises, A. exornatum males may be separated from those of A. latum by the presence of well-marked festoons (inconspicuous in A. latum), numerous large punctations (almost none in A. latum), and deep, inverted, commashaped cervical grooves (obsolete in A. latum). The last character also separates females of these species.

Equatoria Province (King 1926). The British Museum (Natural History) specimens from Nimule are in Nuttall lot 1427.

DISTRIBUTION IN THE SUDAN

The following additional material, all from Varanus lizards, has been seen:

Upper Nile: Er Renk (SCC).

Blue Nile: Singa (SCC). Hassa Heissa Specimens not seen but identified by G. M. Kohls (G. B. Thompson, correspondence) 7.

Kassala: Butana (SCC).

Kordofan: Khuwei, from V. e. exanthematicus; specimens in HH collection; presented by Sudan National Museum.

[Khartoum: Khartoum (SGC; probably from lizards in zoological

gardens).

DISTRIBUTION

The distribution of A. exornatum is the same as that of African Varanus lizards* (Theiler 1945A). To the best of my knowledge, V. griseus is seldom or never infested by this species (for range of this lizard see page 279).

NORTH AFRICA:

ALGERIA (Neumann 1899,1911. Theiler 1945A).

WEST AFRICA: NIGERIA (Northern part, Simpson 1912A). FRENCH WEST AFRICA (As Ixodes flavomaculatus: Lucas 1846. Neumann 1899, 1911. Tonelli Rondelli 1932E. Theiler 1945A. Rousselot 1951, 1953B. Villiers 1955). PORTUGESE GUINEA As Aponomma sp.: Tendeiro (1947). As A. halli sp. nov. (nomen nudum): Tendeiro (1948). Described by Tendeiro (1950). Also noted by Tendciro (1951C,D,1952A,C,D,1953,1954**). See IDENTIFICATION below and Hoogstraal (1954B)7. GOLD COAST (Hoogstraal 1954C).

CENTRAL AFRICA: FERNANDO PO (Schulze 1943B, p. 131 footnote). CAMEROONS (Ziemann 1912A. Rageau 1953A,B). FRENCH EQUATORIAL AFRICA (As A. arcanum: Karsch 1879A. Schulze 1936E. Specimens in CNHM, cf. HOSTS below). BELGIAN CONGO (Neumann 1911. Nuttall and Warburton 1916. Schwetz 1927A,B,C,1932. Bequaert 1930B,1931. Fain 1949. Theiler 1945A. Theiler and Robinson 1954).

NOTE: According to Theiler (correspondence), the record for Ruanda Urundi by Santos Dias (1954D) is in error.

EAST AFRICA: SUDAN (King 1911,1926. Hoogstraal 1954B).

Another sub

*V. n. niloticus is a widely ranging savannah form. species, ornatus, occurs in West African rainforests. V. e. exanthematicus ranges from Senegal to the Sudan. In Ethiopia, the Somalilands, and Mozambique, V. e. microstictus (= V. ocellatus) occurs. In Mozambique south of Zambesi, Angola, and southern Africa, V. e. albigularis occurs. Loveridge, correspondence_7 **Tendeiro (1951D) also noted an unnamed Aponomma species" from the same hosts in Portugese Guinea.

ERITREA (Tonelli_Rondelli 1930A. Stella 1940). FRENCH SOMALI_ LAND (Neumann 1899,1922. Stella 1938A,1939A). ITALIAN SOMALILAND (Paoli 1916. Stella 1938A,1939A,1940). KENYA (Loveridge 1923B, 1936B. Lewis 1932A. Theiler 1945A. Heisch 1954G). UGANDA (Bruce et al 1911. Mettan 1932. Theiler 1945A). TANGANYIKA (Loveridge 1923D. Barbour and Loveridge 1928. Bequaert 1930A. Theiler 1945A).

SOUTHERN AFRICA: ANGOLA (Neumann 1899. Gamble 1914. Santos Dias 1950B. Hoogstraal 1954C). MOZAMBIQUE (Santos Dias 1947D, 1948A,1953A,B. Bacelar 1950. Tendeiro 1951B,F).

NORTHERN RHODESIA (Theiler and Robinson 1954). SOUTHERN RHODESIA (Jack 1942). NYASALAND (Neave 1912. De Meza 1918A. Wilson 1950B).

BECHUANALAND (Theiler 1945A). SOUTHWEST AFRICA (Tromsdorff 1914. Sigwart 1915. Warburton 1922. Theiler 1945A). UNION OF SOUTH AFRICA (Koch 1844. Lewis 1892. Neumann 1899. Howard 1908. As A. neglectum: Hirst and Hirst 1910. Dönitz 1910B. Curson 1928. Bedford 1932B,1936. Theiler 1945A).

MADAGASCAR: Neumann (1901). Howard (1908). Poisson (1927). Bedford (1932B). Buck (1948A). Millot (1948). Zumpt (1950B). These records appear to be a repetition of Neumann (1901). The presence of this species on Madagascar is questionable (Hoogstraal 1953E).7

HOSTS

Most investigators list only the lizards Varanus niloticus subspp. and V. exanthematicus subspp. as hosts. These are some times called warrener or leguan lizards by the British in Africa. References to "iguana" lizards in Africa pertain to Varanus but iguanas are actually New World species.

Other animals may be parasitized occasionally. Records, among mammals, are domestic dogs (Howard 1908, Neumann 1914), pangolin, Manis tricuspis (Fain 1949), fruit bat (Hoogstraal 1954C), ground squirrel (Villiers 1955), and a larva and nymph from a spiny-tailed squirrel, Anomalurus f. fraseri, in French