2 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol.63, 



insects of the United States National Museum, the writer seemed 

 justified in undertaking the preparation of a review of the whole 

 family. The paper here presented, while falling far short of a 

 monographic attempt, does give, it is believed, a fairly adequate 

 survey of the family as a whole. 



To the 14 valid species recognized by Harrison (1916) in his 

 catalogue of the Mallophaga as belonging to the family Gyropidae, 

 there are here added 12 more; while the number of genera in the 

 family is here increased from 2 to 9. Certainly only a small per- 

 centage of the species of the family is represented by theso 26 species. 



In the preparation of this paper assistance has been rendered by 

 various persons. The writer Wishes to acknowledge his indebted- 

 ness, first to Dr. Alexander Wetmore, of the Bureau of Biological 

 Survey, who made the collection of the fresh mammal skins ex- 

 amined, also to Dr. H. H. T. Jackson, of the Bureau of Biological 

 Survey. Gerrit S. Miller, jr., curator of the division of mammals, 

 of the United States National Museum, very kindly granted the 

 writer permission to examine many mammal skins in the division 

 collections, and H. H. Shamel rendered much assistance in many 

 ways during the collection of specimens from the dried museum 

 skins. Lastly the writer is indebted to Mrs. Nettie Klopfer, of the 

 Bureau of Entomology, United States Department of Agriculture, 

 for aid in mounting specimens on microscope slides. 



FAMILY CHARACTERS. 



Probably no family of the order Mallophaga is so clearly marked 

 off from the others as the family Gyropidae; however, the present 

 writer has found at least three unusual species which help bridge 

 over, to a certain degree, the gap between the one-clawed, mammal- 

 infesting Aniblycera and the other two-clawed species which infest 

 both mannnals and birds. 



Formerly the family was differentiated from all others in its sub- 

 order in having but a single claw to each tarsus and some of the 

 legs circular (hence the name Gyrojms). This assumption of a cir- 

 cular shape by the legs is the result, as I have found by observing 

 living specimens, of their adaptation for hair clasping. The writer 

 now finds that there are two new species to be added which have 

 two claws to each front tarsus and one new species with none of 

 the legs circular and adapted for hair clasping. These finds will 

 necessitate somewhat a revision of the family characters. 



As now constituted the family Gyropidae may be characterized as 

 including all those Amblyceran Mallophaga which have but a single 

 claw on each leg of the two posterior pairs, and, with but a single 

 exception, some of the legs modified into hair claspers; the palpi 



