1. During the free-living development the larvæ of Triodontophorus tenuicollis undergo two moults separating three larval stages, the last stage remaining ensheathed in the cuticule of the previous stage.

2. The development takes about four days when the eggs are cultured in horse fæces and charcoal at 26° C.

3. The infective or third stage larvæ are climbers, and also show a marked resistance to desiccation ; they can also withstand variations in temperature from – 8° C. to 60° C.

4. They do not penetrate skin.

5. Infection of the host is probably via the mouth during grazing.

6. The fourth-stage larva is described. It is free in the lumen of the colon, possesses a well-marked larval buccal capsule and three stout and pointed œsophageal teeth. Sex differences are now present.

7. The adult buccal capsule develops in the form of a vesicle round the base of the larval buccal capsule.

8. The probable mode of its parasitic development is given.

9. A fourth-stage larva, probably that of either T. brevicauda or T. serratus, is described.

Our knowledge that the infective larvæ of certain parasitic nematodes are capable of actively boring into intact skin and of thus gaining entry into the host dates from the epoch-making discovery of Looss, who, in 1897, accidentally infected himself with Ancylostoma duodenale, the mature larvae of which entered through the skin of his hand (Looss, 1911, pp. 456−459).

The material on which the following description is based consists of a single pair of male and female worms obtained from under the gizzard lining of a Burmeese Pea-fowl (Pavo muticus). Although the material was so limited, the parasites are of sufficient interest to warrant their description, especially as they show characters which lead one to the conclusion that they represent a hitherto unknown species; also it is a species very closely related to A. (Cheilospirura) hamulosus, a parasite of chickens.

The Oxyurid parasites of Reptiles form a group of very interesting forms and have been a subject of study by several distinguished helminthologists from early times. The earliest account, in a connected form, to which the writer has been able to refer is that given by Rudolphi (1819). This author, though recognising the genus Oxyuris, restricts to it the forms found in mammals and more particularly Oxyuris vermicttlaris from the large intestine of man and Oxyuris curvula from the caxum of horse; the Oxyurids of all other animals he refers to the genus Ascaris.

The specimens here described were contained in cysts from the heart of a Bushbuck (Tragelaphus sylvaticus) submitted for examination by A. J. Stent, Esq., of the Vizara Rubber Plantation, Nyasaland Similar lesions have been reported by others from the heart of the Kudu (Strepsiceros kudu) in the same region, but no opportunity of examining these has occurred.

In a recent study (1924) I have given an account of the genus Kiluluma, describing six species collected by Prof. Leiper from an African rhinoceros in Uganda, and have elucidated certain interesting points in its anatomy. A further study of the material has revealed the presence of four new species which form the basis of the present communication.

The Failure Of the potato crop On some fields in South Lincolnshire has been noted for several years. The stunted growth of the plant, together with the wilting and yellowing of the foliage, usually associated with root trouble, were the symptoms observed, while the yield suffered greatly owing to the small size of the tubers formed. In a few instances the crop over the whole field was so poor that the yield hardly paid for the seed planted; others shewed bad patches which seemed to increase in size year after year.

This small ankylostome was collected from the intestine of a Gambian mongoose which had arrived in England some eight months previously, and had died in the gardens of the Zoological Society of London.

Forty years ago Schøyen (1885) gave an account of a serious disease of barley occurring in the vicinity of Lorn in Norway, which was associated with the formation of galls on the roots of the plants. The galls were found to contain eelworms which had without doubt caused their production and the symptoms of disease also. Schøyen named the worm Tylenchus hordei n.sp. Similar galls had been found at about the same time by Eriksson (1885) on diseased barley at Pajala in northern Sweden, but he had ascribed their formation to the nematode Heterodera radicicola; Schøyen discussed this and gave reasons for thinking it an erroneous view. Closely similar galls had been found previously on the roots of Sea Lyme Grass, Elymus arenarius, by Warming (1877) in Sjaelland, Denmark, and by Trail (1881) at Aberdeen, Scotland. The former had considered that they were caused by Heterodera radicicola, whilst the latter thought they were due to a nematode belonging to the genus Tylenchus, though he was not positive on this as he only saw female worms.

“GAPES,” a disease of Poultry caused by the presence of Syngamus trachealis in the windpipe, is a common disease in the Aberystwyth area, and is generally known among the Welsh farmers and poultrykeepers as “Clefyd-y-big” (the disease of the beak).

Our present knowledge of the Strongylid parasites of reptiles is based primarily on Dujardin (1845), who refers all the forms along with those of other vertebrates under a common genus Strongylus, and described four species from the reptilian hosts. Since then our knowledge of parasitic fauna has considerably increased, and von Linstow (1878–89) gave an enlarged list under the same genus from reptiles and also a few under the genus Kalicephalus, Later, with improved methods of Nematode study the forms described were revised, and it was found necessary to split the genus Strongylus, and several groups of a diverse character were recognised. The genus Strongylus was thus split up into several genera, and some of them were removed from the family Strongylidæ. The form Strongylus dispar of Dujardin from the Anguis fragilis was removed into a separate genus, Oswaldocruzia and Strongylus auricularis, with its characters in the absence of buccal capsule and the bifid and trifid distal ends of the spicule seemed more closely allied to Trichostrongylidæ Leiper, and was also removed to the genus Oswaldocruzia.

Two members of a collection of the South American rodent Viscacia viscacia received by the Zoological Society of London, died early this year, one of them about 10 days after arrival at the Gardens. At the post-mortem examination both were found to have the alimentary canal heavily parasitized with Trichostrongylid nematodes. In the stomach there occurred Graphidioides rudicaudatus and Trichostrongylus retortæformis, whilst in the small intestine there were a few specimens of Trichostrongylus retortæformis and large numbers of the worm which forms the subject of the present paper. To naked eye examination of the intestinal wall the worms appeared as small bright red spots about the size of a pin's head and it could be seen that each was spirally coiled.

The genus Mesocestoides was created in 1863 by Vaillant to receive a new species of cestode found by him in Viverra genetta and named M. ambiguus. Unfortunately, the description of this form is such that, although the generic characters can be recognised, it is impossible to say to which of the several species found in mammals it should be referred, and therefore Fuhrmann (1908) regarded it as a species inquirenda. Weiss (1910), in redescribing a form of Mesocestoides from the same host, gives no details which would enable the parasite to be distinguished from the other members of the genus. He notes that his form is only 50 mm. long, while that described by Vaillant was 160 to 240 mm. long. However, as Neumann (1896) points out, M. lineatus has a size varying between 30 and 250 mm. The size of M. ambiguus therefore is only of use in showing that it does not belong to the species M. bassarisci or M. cæstus referred to later in this paper. It still leaves its identity a matter of speculation as, in addition to M. lineatus, M. mesorchis has dimensions which fall within these limits.

The following note is based on a sample of Filariae collected by Dr. W. Stefanski (University of Warsaw) from the trachea of a Black Stork shot in the neighbourhood of Warsaw and generously placed by him at my disposal.

In 1923, the writer in studying some species of the family Trichostrongylidæ, had occasion to create a new genus Graphidioides to receive the form previously known as Graphidium affine (Megnin, 1895), Railliet and Henry, 1909. This species differs from the type species of the genus Graphidium on the following points: absence of cervical papillæ, shape of bursa and disposition of ventro-ventral rays, shape of accessory piece and spicules, shape of the ovejectors and vagina and posterior extremity of the female. In an addendum on the remaining species of Graphidium, G. rudicaudatum the following statement was made:—

“Graphidium rudicaudatus R. & H., 1909, from Viscacia viscacia from Argentina resembles G. affinis very closely. It differs mainly by its smaller size, equal ovejectors, sharply pointed externo-dorsal ray and absence of an accessory piece. Its affinities to Graphidioides are so close, that the latter point requires re-investigation. The other points are only of specific value, and it is proposed to include it in this new genus. Should the absence of an accessory piece be confirmed, its position would require re-determination.”

The following observations cover the second half of a year's survey of the helminthic parasites of domestic animals in the Aberystwyth area from the beginning of April to the end of September, 1924. The results obtained during the first six months of the survey were published in this Journal in April, 1924 (Vol. II. No. 2).

Since Blanc created the genus Streptopharagus in 1912 for the reception of a nematode parasite from the stomach of Macacus cynomolgus (India ?) which he named S. armatus, three papers have appeared from different sources, each of which deals with what its author took to be examples of S. armatus Blanc. The first of these papers is by Vevers (1922), in which he records and figures some specimens obtained from Macacus nemestrinus (India). The second is by Baylis (1923), describing and figuring specimens obtained from Papio langheldi (Tanganyika Territory). The third is by Mönnig (1924), in which specimens obtained from Papio porcarius and Cercopithecus pygerythrus (Transvaal) are described and figured.

In a varied collection of parasitic worms sent by Dr. G. M. Heydon, of Raboul, New Guinea, to Prof. R. T. Leiper, Director of this Institute, there were a number of specimens of Œsophagostomum dentatum which had been taken from the large intestine of a pig. An accompanying letter stated that the pigs at Roboul are crossbred between the local wild pig and European breeds.

That the infective larvæ of a number of species of hookworm are capable of penetrating intact skin has been demonstrated in the following, Ancylostoma duodenale, A. caninum, A. braziliense and Necator americanus.