Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 April 2009
In a previous paper (1931) the writer described the presence of a spicule in the male of Capillaria [Hepaticola] hepatica, and gave reasons for believing that the apparent presence or absence of a spicule in the males of forms closely related to it is not a reliable taxonomic character. It was suggested that the genus Eucoleus Dujardin, which, like Hepaticola Hall, was based mainly on the supposed absence of a spicule, should likewise be suppressed as a synonym of Capillaria. Teixeira de Freitas & Lent (1935, 1936), in accepting this view, have drawn attention to an observation recorded by Creplin (1849), which had been generally overlooked, to the effect that a spicule is present in the genotype of Eucoleus (Trichosomum aërophilum Crepl., in Ersch & Gruber, 1839). Up to the present Creplin's observation has not, so far as the writer is aware, been confirmed. Some specimens of Capillaria aërophila from the lungs of silver foxes were recently received from Mr C. V. Watkins, M.R.C.V.S., who had noticed in a living male specimen what appeared to be a spicule projecting from the everted spicule-sheath, and enclosed a sketch of it in his letter. On examining the preserved material, the writer was able to confirm this interesting observation. In the specimen referred to by Mr Watkins, and in another individual, a very delicate structure, apparently a spicule, was seen projecting for a short distance beyond the end of the partly everted sheath.
To send this article to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about sending to your Kindle. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.
To save this article to your Dropbox account, please select one or more formats and confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you used this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your Dropbox account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.
To save this article to your Google Drive account, please select one or more formats and confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you used this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your Google Drive account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.