Bird-parasites and Bird-phylogeny. 259 



by their parasites, for I know that that would be absurd, 

 but for putting forward the clues as to affinity which tbese 

 parasites seem to afford. Such clues may, at all events, help 

 the morphologist to attack his problem in a new light, and 

 to separate those characters of phyletic value from the rest. 



I cannot at present, even if the brief time at my disposal 

 allowed, put before you a great deal in the way of positive 

 results of this line of investigation. The Mallophaga 

 themselves have to be more thoroughly collected, examined, 

 and understood before a complete statement can be at- 

 tempted. But I will just mention a few suggestions I have 

 already published, and finish by giving you a preliminary 

 result of an actual attempt to indicate a natural classification 

 of the Tubinares by means of some of their parasites. 



I have already shown elsewhere that Tinamous, Fowls, 

 and Pigeons possess in common Mallophaga of the very dis- 

 tinct family Goniodidse, and are not infested by the family 

 Philopteridae. These birds are very generally admitted to 

 be closely related, and parasitic evidence supports this view. 

 Opisthocomus also possesses a Goniodid parasite, which helps 

 to confirm its suggested Gallinaceous affinities. But the 

 same conditions, presence of Goniodidre and absence of 

 Philopteridse, obtain with the Penguins. No one has ever 

 suggested any affinity between the Penguins and the Galli- 

 form complex, but the evidence afforded by the parasites 

 would seem to demand such affinity. 



I have shown that the Mallophagan parasites of the 

 Palamedeidse link up with those of Ducks, Geese, and 

 Swans, thus confirming the Anserine affinities of this some- 

 what anomalous group. I have suggested, upon the same 

 basis, that the Rails form a very distinct group, of at least 

 ordinal rank ; that the Parridse are Rails, not Limicolines ; 

 and, finally, that the Apterygidse are more nearly akin to 

 the Ralli than to any other living birds, and have nothing 

 in common with the other Ratitse. Of the latter, the 

 Ostriches and Rheas would seem to have certainly originated 

 from a common ancestral stock, from which I believe the 



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