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WEST AFRICA: FRENCH WEST AFRICA (Rousselot 1951,1953B. Hoogstraal 1955D. Villiers 1955).

CENTRAL AFRICA: FRENCH EQUATORIAL AFRICA (Bate, "New Cameroons" (Nuttall and Warburton 1915. Hoogstraal 1955D).

EAST AFRICA: SUDAN (As of H. calcarata:

As H. houyi: Hoogstraal 19548,1955D).

UGANDA and KENYA (Hoogstraal 1955D).

Neumann 1910A.

HOSTS

Ground squirrels, Euxerus erythropus subspp. (All authors). King's specimen from "Xerus rutilus" at Bor (SGC) is based on a misidentification of the host. E. erythropus is the common groundsquirrel of West Africa, and of Northcentral and East Africa west of the Rift Valley. East of the Rift Valley it is replaced by Xerus rutilus subspp., parasitized by H. calcarata Neumann, 1902*. In Kenya, Xerus is confined to hot lowlands and Euxerus to higher, arable mountains from 2000 feet to 6000 feet elevation, but mostly above 3000 feet. If, as now seems apparent, it is true that these two ticks are so host specific, this would seem to be a bolstering argument against lumping these two squirrel genera in one genus, as some mammalogists advocate (Hoogstraal 1955D).

BIOLOGY

Aside from the fact that all stages may be found on a single ground squirrel, little is known concerning the biology of H. houyi. This tick and its host inhabit savannah country with few or scattered trees, and upland grasslands. Along the southern border of the squirrel's range it extends into forested districts, but only in tongues of grassland with scattered trees between thicker forest. As already stated under HOSTS, in Kenya, where the two host genera and the two related tick species occur near each other, the host of H. houyi is confined mostly to arable uplands and that of H. calcarata inhabits warmer and more arid lowlands.

*The record of H. calcarata from Dahomey (Villiers 1955) undoubtedly is based on misidentification.

In the Galual-Nyang forest area of Bahr El Ghazal, each of five host specimens examined was infested. In Torit District of Equatoria, a third of the 27 hosts examined yielded specimens of H. houyi.

DISEASE RELATIONS

Unstudied but potentially important.

IDENTIFICATION

The following characters easily distinguish males among the Sudan haemaphy salid fauna: strong ventral spur on trochanter I; all coxae with distinct spurs; tarsi short, robust, and abruptly tapered; palpi widely expanded basally, without a developed dorsal spur basally, with basal spur ventrally and spur from segment 3 ventrally; basis capituli strongly diverging anteriorly and with moderate cornua; dentition 4/4; scutum with long, deep lateral grooves enclosing first festoon, and few, scattered, shallow, inconspicuous punctations of mixed sizes; size ranges from an overall length of 1.71 mm. to 2.15 mm. and width of 0.99 mm. to 1.20 mm.

Females are also easily recognized by the raised spurlike, non projecting ventral ridge of trochanter I, coxae and tarsi almost exactly like those of male; palpi essentially like those of male but larger and more elongate, basis capituli short, wide, and with prominent cornua and anteriorly diverging lateral mar gins; dentition 4/4; scutum only very slightly longer than wide and broadly rounded posteriorly, with few, shallow, scattered punctations of various sizes mostly on anterior half. The size is somewhat greater than that of males.

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Figures 144 and 145, o, from domestic dog (Kajo Kaji) Figures 146 and 147, g, from domestic dog (Kajo Kaji) Figures 148 and 149, o and g, from civet (Obbo)

HAFMAPHY SALIS LEACHII LEACHII
Sudan Specimens

PLATE XLIV

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*The subspecies of these nymphs is not entirely certain.

DISTRIBUTION IN THE SUDAN

King (1926) listed Equatoria, Bahr El Ghazal, Upper Nile, Blue Nile, Kordofan, Khartoum, and Kassala Provinces, and noted that although H. leachii (subspecies not differentiated) has a wide range in The Sudan, it is a relatively rare species here. We now know that H. 1. leachii occurs in every Province of the Sudan. In most areas it is probably fairly common, though usually only on medium-size carnivores, especially jackals, foxes, and domestic dogs.

The following is Sudanese material seen:

Bahr El Ghazal: Wau (Domestic cat; SVS. Domestic dogs; HH). Galual Nyang Forest (Domestic dog; HH).

Upper Nile: Akobo Post (Lion; SGC). Sobat (Domestic dog; SGC).

Blue Nile: Magangani (Caracal c. mubicus; MCZ).

Kordofan: Delami (Domesticated wild cat; SGC). Umm Dona, (Mustelid; SGC).

Darfur: Fasher (Domestic dogs; SVS).

Khartoum: Khartoum, near (Vulpes a. aegyptiaca; HH). (Domestic dogs; Balfour 1911F).

Kassala: Port Sudan (Domestic dogs; HH).

Northern: Wadi Halfa and Atbara (Vulpes a. aegyptiaca; HH).

DISTRIBUTION

Haemaphysalis leachii leachii is a ubiquitous tick of tropical and southern Africa. In Egypt, it occurs in and at the edge of the Nile Valley and Delta almost to the Mediterranean coast. It has been reported to range along the Mediterranean littoral at least as far west as Algeria but these records require careful checking for accuracy of identification. H. 1. leachii is fairly

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