PROC. ENT. SOC. WASH., VOL. 62, NO. 1, MARCH, 1960 45 A NEW SPECIES OF KOHLSIA FROM CENTRAL AMERICA (SiPHONAPTERA : CeRATOPHYLLIDAE ) EusTOBGio MendezI cmd Egbert M. Altman2 Our information on the flea genus Kohlsia is recent. Traub (1950) described the genus and five new forms : K. osgoodi, K. cora, K. gam-monsi, K. uniseta and K. graphis erana. He included in this group K. graphis (Rothschild, 1915) and K. campanigcr (Jordan, 1931) which were considered before in other g'enera. Since the above-men-tioned work the following species have been described : K. fournieri Vargas, 1951 ; K. whartoni Traub and Johnson, 1952 ; K. pelaezi Bar-rera, 1954; and K. felieni Smit, 1958. With the description given below there are now eleven known members of this genus. Mr. F. G. A. M. Smit, of the British Museum, confirmed the status of the species which is the subject of this paper. He has been also re-sponsible for valuable comments and the loan of a male specimen (Rothschild collection) from Costa Rica.^ Lt. Col. Robert Traub has kindly compared our drawings with an undescribed Panamanian Kohlsia in his possession and found two species were represented. To these workers we express our gratitude. Our thanks are also due to Dr. Phyllis T. Johnson and Capt. V. J. Tipton for critical review of the manuscript and helpful suggestions. Kohlsia tiptoni, new species (Figures 1-11) Types. — Holotype male, from Cerro Azul, Panama, ex DideJphis marsupialis, 29, I, 1958, Coll. No. 4034 (U. S. National Museum Type No. 64877). Allotype fe-male, same data as holotype but ex Tylomys panamensis, Coll. No. 4031, both to be deposited in the U. S. National Museum. One paratype male from San Geronimo, Pirris, Costa Rica, ex rat, 17, IV, 1931, collected by C. F. Underwood, deposited in the British Museum collection. Diagnosis. — The following characters readily will distinguish this species from all the other described members of the genus : The presence of a large number of subspiniform bristles in the distal arm of ninth sternum (this form possesses more than twelve subspiniforms, about twice as many as occur in any other known Kohlsia) . This arm also bears a conspicuous apical bristle directed cephalad which seems to be absent in the other species. Another important diagnostic feature is the presence of a tibial comb on each leg. This last character suggests the related genus Jellisonia Traub on which the tibial comb is typical. MALE. — Head (Fig. 1) : Anterior margin of head evenly rovmded except for iGorgas Memorial Laboratory, Panama City. ^Major, M. S. C, U. S. Army Caribbean, Canal Zone. Present address: Depart-ment of Entomology, University of Maryland. ^This specimen unfortunately is in poor condition. The head, prothorax and mesothorax are missing, though the metathorax and abdomen are in perfect condition. It constitutes our only paratype.
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