The collection of fleas in the British Museum (Natural History) ranks among the most important in the world. It is based largely on the famous flea collection formed by N.C. Rothschild, and presented by him to the nation in 1913 with a proviso that a catalogue be prepared and published. Since that time the collection has been augmented by specimens of fleas from all parts of the world. Although the title refers to the original Rothschild collection, the work in fact deals with the whole of the British Museum (Natural History) collection, in which some 90 per cent of the known 2000 or so species are represented. It is a work of identification seldom equalled in the field of taxonomy. The Catalogue provides a comprehensive taxonomic monograph on the group, with keys and descriptions for the identification of families, genera, species, and subspecies, and many excellent drawings. The groups of fleas described in this seventh and final volume occur mainly in the Southern Hemisphere, and especially in South America. Plague is endemic in large areas of these regions, and fleas are main vectors of the plague bacillus.
The information provided here will therefore be of value in the study of the carriers of the disease. Entomologists; those concerned with research on plague.
- ISBN10 0198585195
- ISBN13 9780198585190
- Publish Date 1 November 1987 (first published December 1953)
- Publish Status Active
- Out of Print 4 July 2000
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Oxford University Press
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 400
- Language English