---
title: "Lousy times for three New Zealand albatrosses"
---

# Lousy times for three New Zealand albatrosses

Ricardo Palma ([Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa](http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/pages/default.aspx), Wellington, New Zealand)has described in the journal [*Zootaxa*](http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/)a new species of chewing louse from three species of albatrosses in New Zealand: Light-mantled Sooty *Phoebetria palpebrata*, Grey-headed *Thalassarche chrysostoma* and Campbell *T. impavida*.

 The paper's abstract follows:

 "I describe and illustrate three new species of chewing lice in the genus *Saemundssonia*, collected from seabirds in New Zealand, the Galápagos and other islands of the Pacific Ocean.  They are: *Saemundssonia*(*Saemundssonia*) *albatrossa***n. sp.**from *Phoebetria palpebrata*, *Thalassarche chrysostoma*, and *Thalassarche impavida*; *Saemundssonia*(*Saemundssonia*) *creagrusa***n. sp.**from *Creagrus furcatus*; and *Saemundssonia*(*Saemundssonia*) *gygisa***n. sp.**from *Gygis alba candida*."

 ![Light-mantled by Rowan Treblico](https://acap.aq/images/stories/acap/Birds/Albatrosses/L/Light_mantled/Light-mantled by Rowan Treblico.jpg)  
A Light-mantled Sooty Albatross guards its chick  
Photograph by Rowan Treblico

 **Reference:**

 Palma, R.L. 2012.  Three new species of the louse genus *Saemundssonia*(Insecta: Phthiraptera: Philopteridae).  [*Zootaxa*3478: 38-48](http://phthiraptera.info/sites/phthiraptera.info/files/61607.pdf).

 John Cooper, ACAP Information Officer, 26 December 2012