Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 April 2009
Extraordinary as any of the Mallophaga are when compared with conventional insect forms, there are some species of the order which are still more peculiar than the majority of their fellows. Among these unusually strange forms is that here to be dealt with, a species that seems to combine within itself the characteristics of two otherwise trenchantly separated groups, that possesses striking specific peculiarities and that in addition is decidedly aberrant in its choice of host. It has but once been recorded. The availability of further specimens makes possible additions to our knowledge of its structure and a reconsideration of its relationships.