On the Sarcoptes of Man

Abstract

Our knowledge of the systematics of the genus Sarcoptes is in an unsatisfactory state. About a score of species have been admitted, many of which have never been seen since they were described. Many of the descriptions date from between sixty and seventy years ago, a period when microscopes and microscopical technique were barely adequate to cope with so difficult a genus as Sarcoptes is. In order to provide a basis for further study of Sarcoptes, Warburton (1920) published a critical survey of our knowledge regarding these mites. His review of the literature has proved invaluable to myself, and is the foundation on which I have worked. In the foregoing paper (pp. 114–145) I published an only too lengthy description of the Sarcoptes of the horse, finding that a full description of one form was necessary as a basis for comparison. Since we do not know what anatomical points are of systematic importance, attention was given to all details of the external anatomy.