Studies on Chinese Anoplura III. A new species of the family Ratemiidae

The genus Ratemia contains two species of sucking lice, R. squamulata (Neu-z mann) and R. bassoni Fiedler et Stampa, both off Equus burohelli from Africa. Ratemia asiatics Chin sp. nov. as here described constitutes the third species of the genus. It is near R. bassoni but differs in the following characters. 1. The head is more constricted behind the antenna, with the margins, of occipital re- gion almost straight. 2. The thoracic sternal plate is hexagonal, slightly long- ger than wide, with all the angles protruded, especially the posterior laterals being so prominent as to form pointed horn-like protrusions. 3. There are lhree transverse rows of setae on both dorsal and ventral surfaces of all abdo- minal segments except segment Ⅷ which possesses only two rows. Sometimes, one or two more rows may be present. Only the last two rows. have their setae across the whole width of the segment while the anterior ones are short, loca- lcd at the middle. The three pairs of paratergal plates on segments Ⅳ-Ⅵ being, triangular with their sclerotised portion somewhat rectangular. The last paratergal plate of male some-what atrophied. 4. The genital plate of the female mush- xoom inshape with the middle of the anterior border protruded. Cronopods of seg ment Ⅷ not prominent, angular, with a peg-like setae posterior to them. Geni- Iai lobe of segment Ⅸ with the two marginal setae anterior to the genital sets far apart. Male genital plate lyriform, heavy, with long arms. Parameres long, and the pseudopennis not well sclerotised. Holotyp paratypes 19 nymphs Ⅲ, collected off domestic horse in Xinjiang Autonomous District, Chtna, May 1973. Type specimens are deposited in Guiyang Medical College except ara- types in Xinjiang Veterinary Research Irtstitute..