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flea NEWS 53 Department of Entomology Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011 <http://www.ent.iastate.edu/FleaNews/ AboutFleaNews.html> or through the Table of Contents internet via anonymous FTP: Book Reviews....................613-617 <ftp.ent.iastate.edu> in the "Publications" directory. Electronic Literature........................626-632 versions are available for No. 46, July, Miscellanea...........................617 1993; No. 47, December, 1993; No. 48, Obituaries........................618-626 July, 1994; No. 49, December, 1994; No. 50, June, 1995; No. 51, December, Report...................................632 1995; No. 52, June, 1996 and this number. The opinions and assertions con- FLEA NEWS is a biannual newsletter tained herein are the private ones of devoted to matters involving insects the authors and are not to be constru- belonging to the order Siphonaptera (fleas) and related subjects. It is com- ed as official or as reflecting the views piled and distributed free of charge by of the Department of Entomology, Robert E. Lewis ([email protected]) Iowa State University or Sandoz in cooperation with the Department of Animal Health. Entomology at Iowa State University, Ames, IA, and a grant in aid from ❊❆❊❆❊❆❊ Sandoz Animal Health, based in Des Plaines, IL. It is mainly bibliograph-ic in nature. Many of the sources are NOTICE abstracting journals and title pages Effective 1-January-1997 I will and not all citations have been check- have retired from the Iowa State ed for completeness or accuracy. Ad- University. I intend to remain active ditional information will be provided professionally and will continue to upon written or e-mail request. Fur- produce this newsletter as long as ther, recipients are urged to contri-bute there is support for it. After January items of interest to the profess-ion for first I may be contacted in the following inclusion herein. ways: This newsletter is now available in electronic format. The preferred Snail Mail; 3906 Stone Brooke method of accessing the electronic Circle, Ames, IA 50010-4174 version is through the WorldWide Web Telephone; (515) 232 7714 at the following Universal Res-ource Fax; (515) 233 1851 Locator: E-mail; [email protected] DECEMBER 1996 612 BOOK REVIEWS heading of STATISTICS, "... the subjective nature of the infraspecific Since the last issue of Flea News, three category itself makes it likely that the rather extensive publications have number of valid North American taxa appeared dealing with three separate will diminish rather than increase as parts of the world. Two of these are generic revisions are completed." faunal inventories, one for North The chapter begins with a brief America north of Mexico (not yet Introduction and a short section on published at this writing), the other for Statistics, including the number of Australia. The third is a more species erected for the North American comprehensive treatment of the South fauna from 1758 to 1996 in increments African fauna. Following are reviews of of 10 years. Following this is a table in these publications. which the eight families found in North America are named, with the total Nomina Insecta Nearctica number of names associated with each Volume 3. Diptera, Lepidoptera, family, followed by the actual number Siphonaptera. of "valid" species names. The totals are 562 names and 314 valid species. Compiled by Robert W. Poole and Next is a list of all of the family edited by Robert W. Poole and Patricia names that have been applied in the Gentili. Published by Entomological order, including junior synonyms, and Information Services. P. O. Box 4350, families not represented in North Rockville, MD 20849-4350 USA. America. The junior synonyms are associated with currently accepted In Flea News 52: 600 I briefly family names. There follows a mentioned this series, based on an classification of the North American announcement of the publication of Siphonaptera in which the eight Volume 1, which dealt with the families are assigned to five Coleoptera and Strepsiptera. Shortly superfamilies following the system thereafter I was contacted by Dr. established by Smit (1982) in S. P. Poole, inquiring whether I would be Parker (ed.) Synopsis and classification willing to cooperate with him by of living organisms. McGraw-Hill Book providing the chapter on the Company, pp. 557-563. Siphonaptera for Volume 3. This I The remainder of the chapter have done, and it is my understanding consists of three parts in which the that the volume will be available early North American fauna is listed in in January of 1997. Though I have not differing formats. The first is an seen the finished product, I have a copy alphabetical listing of the families of the chapter in its final form, and am under which the genera and species are basing this review on it. also listed alphabetically, as well as The Siphonaptera chapter differs their original generic designation, from those dealing with the other subspecies, synonyms and other orders in that it includes subspecies. invalid applications. Generic Opposed as I am to the subspecies synonyms and other misapplications category, arbitrarily ignoring it in this are included under their respective order without resorting to studying the genera. The second part is an types would be both confusing and a alphabetical list of all species, disservice to the taxonomic subspecies and synonyms, including community. As I point out under the the name of the author, original generic FLEA NEWS 613 assignment, family and present generic Page 136 contains illustrations of assignment. Junior synonyms are the head and prothorax of repre- accompanied by their senior sentatives of eight of the nine counterparts. The last section is an siphonapteran families found in alphabetical list of all genera, their Australia and adjacent islands. The authors and family assignment. Junior next six pages contain introductory synonyms are also indicated. The last remarks on the order, brief notes about two sections are indices and the the catalogue, acknowledge-ments and finished product will include page a list of pertinent refer-ences. The numbers. following pages con-tain accounts of While such checklists provide little the families, genera and species known beyond nomenclatural inform-ation, from the country, arranged they are essential, since they are an alphabetically. Each family account indication of taxonomic opinion at the begins with a brief intro-duction and a time of publication and provide a list of pertinent references. The framework for a more extensive genera, subgenera, species and treatment of the group. It is the subspecies are ac-companied by expectation of the compiler that this appropriate biblio-graphic, series will ultimately be extended to nomenclatural and distrib-utional include the entire world fauna. information, as well as host associations. Primary type data are Calder, A. N. (1996). Siphonaptera. also included. Discounting the few pp. 136-181, 185-197 (App. IV), 222- recognized subspecies, the 34 genera 226 (Index). In: A. Wells (ed.) and 81 species are distributed as Zoological Catalogue of Australia. follows: Volume 28. Neuroptera, Strepsiptera, Mecoptera, Siphonaptera. Melbourne : Ceratophyllidae 3 : 4 (3) CSIRO Publishing, Australia ISBN 0- Hystrichopsyllidae 2 : 2 643-05801-X. P.O.Box 1139 [Oxford Ischnopsyllidae 4 : 7 Street] Leptopsyllidae 1 : 1 (1) Collingwood, Victoria 3066, Aust-ralia). Macropsyllidae 2 : 2 <[email protected]> Pulicidae 5 : 20 (7): Pygiopsyllidae 14 : 33 Over the years the scientific Rhopalopsyllidae 1 : 4 community has come to expect a level Stephanocircidae 2 : 8 of excellence from the Common-wealth Scientific & Industrial Res-earch Eleven of these species are deemed Organization and its associates seldom adventive by this reviewer and these approximated in other parts of the are indicated by the numbers in world. The Zoological Catal-ogue of parentheses after the Ceratophyl-lidae, Australia, compiled under the auspices Leptopsyllidae and Pulicidae. of the Australian Biological Resources Appendix IV contains a listing of the Study and published by the CSIRO host-flea associations. Ignoring the admirably continues this tradition. single species taken from a snake as Although four insect orders are included an accidental association, 41 avian and in Volume 28, the following review 121 mammalian taxa are listed as applies only to the chapter on the hosts of Australian fleas. There is also Siphonaptera by Andrew A. Calder. a separate index for the Siphonaptera, FLEA NEWS 614 as there is for the three other insect Smit, 1979; tunneyi Mardon & Dunnet, orders included in this volume. 1972, and zethi (Rothschild, 1904). Certainly the most detailed treat- In summary, this is a most useful ment of the Australian flea fauna is treatment of the flea fauna, both that of Dunnet and Mardon (1974) because of its currency and its format. (Australian Journal of Zoology. The author, although not a specialist in Supplementary Series No. 30: 1-273) fleas, has done an excellent job of and workers seeking identification of reviewing the pertinent literature and Australian collections must still refer nomen-clature in the order and should to it for the necessary keys. However, be highly commended for his accom- in the intervening 22 years a few no- plishment. menclatural changes have been made and these may be easily traced in the Segerman, J. (1995). Siphonaptera present volume. They are described of southern Africa. Handbook for below, with the under-standing that the the identification of fleas. comments apply only to the Australian Publications of the South African members of the genera. Institute for Medic-al Research No. 57. Ceratophyllidae 264 pp. ISBN No. 1-874813-06-X. Although Dunnet & Mardon (1974) Natal Witness Printing & Publishing mention Glaciopsyllus antarcticus Company. (price not known). SAIMR, Smit & Dunnet, 1962, it is not included Hospital Street, P.O.Box 1038, in their key to the genera. Johannesburg 2000, South Africa. Ischnopsyllidae Serendipsylla marshalli Smit, It has been slightly over 35 years since 1975, was unknown in 1974.