i 4 -' 



General Notes. 



[February, 



Nitzsch does not seem to have observed it in the Catliarlidir, 

 but found it in Haliin tuncuius alaudarius and 



some others of the Falconidae. It is very conspicuous in Pandion. 

 In fact, the occurrence of such a claw is of very frequent occurrence 

 in the class Aves, though by no means universal amongst them. 

 Amongst birds in which it may be well seen, I may mention 

 Struthio and Rhea, Cypselus, Caprimidgus, the Rallida and Panida. 

 Such a claw must not be confounded, as has been done by some 

 writers, with the long " spurs " covered by epidermic tissues, 

 formed by outgrowths from the metacarpal elements, of most 

 birds as Parra, Palamedea, Plectropterus, &c. In fact, the two 

 may, as in Parra or Plectropterus, coexist. Believe me, yours 

 very truly, W. A. Forbes, 



A new Distomum Parasite in the Egg-sacks of Apus. — While 

 opening the egg-sack of an Apus lucasanus from Kansas, my atten- 

 tion was attracted by a small cylindrical worm-like object attached 

 to the walls of the interior of an egg-sack on the eleventh pair of feet. 

 It is represented by the accompanying fig- 

 ure, which gives enlarged sketches of the 

 side and under surface. The worm is i^ of a 

 millemeter in length, and T \ mm in thickness 

 at the thickest part of the body, which is in 

 the region of the sucker (s). Seen side- 

 wise the body is moderately long and 

 slender, a little curved and flattened on the 

 concave side. The mouth (w) is situated 

 near the end of the body, and is much 

 smaller than the sucker (s). The anterior 

 end of the body is not so much pointed 

 as the posterior ; the latter is somewhat 

 produced, the end even somewhat in- 

 curved. The animal was white in color. 

 This fluke may be called Distomum apodis. 

 This is the first occurrence of any parasite 

 on the members of this family ( Apodidce) 

 A^nXSSZZ of Phyllopods, and so far as we are aware 

 m, mouth; *, sucker. Much the first instance of the occurrence of any 

 enlarged. parasftic worm in the Phyllopods in general. 



Living as it does in theovisack, it can hardly be called an internal 

 parasite.— A 5. Packard, Jr. 



Additional note on the Egg Cases of Planarians ectopar- 

 asitic on Limulus. — In the January number of this journal, by a 

 curious coincidence, Dr. Gissler contributed a note covering in 

 part the same ground as one by myself which appeared 



I desire to make a correction in regard to the 5 

 -tubes alluded to by the former as occurring at the tif 



of 



