NORTH AMERICAN PARASITIC COPEPODS OF THE FAMILY 

 ARGULID.E, WITH A BH5LI0GRAPHY OF THE GROUP 

 AND A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF ALL KNOWN SPECIES. 



By Chakles Branch Wilson, 



Department of Biology, State Normal School, Westfield, Masxartmnetts. 



INTRODUCTION. 



The present paper is the first of a series, now in course of prepara- 

 tion, on the parasitic copepods, based primarily on the large collec- 

 tion of this interesting- group belonging to the U. S. National Museum, 

 which has been placed in the author's hands for studj'. The great 

 niajority of the specimens came originally from the U. S. Fish Commis- 

 sion, and in addition all the unassigned material at the disposal of the 

 Commission was turned over to the writer by Dr. H. C. Bumpus and 

 Dr. Hugh M. Smith, to be added eventually to the National Museum 

 collection. To Dr. Bumpus the author is also under obligation for the 

 innumerable facilities in the way of collecting and studying living 

 material which are alwa^'s attendant upon a summer spent in the U. S. 

 Fish Commission laboratory at Woods Hole. 



Further acknowledgment is made of much valuable assistance ren- 

 dered ])y Dr. Smith, who has placed every facility at the author's dis- 

 posal, particularly of the inland stations of the U. S. Fish Commission, 

 where no work of the kind has ever been done before; by Prof. Jacob 

 Reighard, director of the station at Ann Arbor, Michigan, who dis- 

 covered the new species Argulus americanus^ and who has spared no 

 pains to secure just the material asked for, and finally by Mr. Vinal 

 N. Edwards, whose ability as a collector has placed so many other 

 investigators under obligation. 



Hence while these papers are to be primarily reports upon the 

 National Museum collection, it is purposed to combine with them the 

 notes and results obtained from the work at the U. S. Fish Commis- 

 sion, and to add also considerable that has come through private 

 research, in order that they may be made as complete as possible.' 



Since this is the first attempt made in America upon this great crus- 

 tacean group, it will, even at its best, of necessity be found defiicient. 



Proceedings U. S. National Museum, Vol. XXV— No. 130? 



635 



