112 CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



in anterior angles, with transparent spots at posterior an- 

 gles and margins narrowly transparent; segment 8 with 

 irregular black marginal blotch ; segment 9 with two short 

 .chestnut lines parallel with posterior rounding margin; on 

 dorsal surface of segments 2-6 a median transverse chest- 

 nut line shortest on second and on sixth segments, and 

 with anterior border of each mark emarginated; ventral 

 surface of segment 5 with broad transverse chestnut blotch 

 almost divided in the middle; segments 4 and 6 with such 

 blotches completely and widely divided, making two lat- 

 eral blotches on each segment; segment 3 with faint in- 

 dications of such lateral blotches; genitalia confined to 

 segments 7-8, side pieces angulated with points project- 

 ing inwards and slightly crossing each other at tips ; pos- 

 terior angles of abdominal segments with few long hairs; 

 segment 8 with hairs rising from middle of margin; seg- 

 ment 9 with about twelve hairs along posterior margin 

 which is broadly rounded. 



Nirmus signatus Piaget. (Plate vi, fig. 5.) 



Les Pediculines, 1880, p. 186, pi. xv, fig. 8. 

 Nirmus signatus Piaget, Konig, Ein Beitrag zur Mallophagenfauiia, 

 1884, p. 10. 



Three males and three females taken from an American 

 Avocet, Recurvirostra americana (Lawrence, Kansas). 

 Piaget found this species common on Recurvirostra avo- 

 cetta (Zool. Garden of Rotterdam), and Konig found it 

 abundant on the same bird species taken near Kiel. 



As Piaget figures only the female, and the differences 

 between the sexes in shape and markings of abdomen 

 and character of last segments is considerable, I figure 

 the male. The difference in size between the sexes is 

 considerable, as shown by the following measurements of 

 my specimens: Male, body, length 1.9 mm., width .5 

 mm.; head, length 5 mm., width .36 mm. Female, body, 



