PRELIMINARY NOTE ON NEW PROTOZOAN PARASITE. 40! 



the animal presents a smooth creamy-white appearance, or very 

 rarely, a light brownish tinge. The latter color, however, is 

 probably due to a staining action on the parasite of some sub- 

 stance from the host. The large unattached end of the animal 

 is bluntly rounded. At a greater or less distance from this end 

 the body branches into two rami each of which is narrower than 

 the main trunk (Fig. i). Each of the two primary rami branch 

 again to form two smaller secondary rami. This branching 

 continues until eight or sixteen small ramuli are produced. The 

 region at which ramification begins is not constant in position. 



FIG. 2. Sucker-like organs of attachment. (Camera lucida.) X ca. 475. 



In one specimen which is 1.4 mm. long the first branching occurs 

 at a distance of about .9 mm. from the blunt end, the second 

 1.2 mm., and the third 1.32 mm. In other specimens the trunk 

 portion is often much shorter proportionately, rarely even shorter 

 than the primary rami. The ramuli at the attached end are the 

 shortest, the rami usually increasing in length towards the free 

 end of the parasite. The dichotomy is regular in all specimens 

 examined. The ramuli bear groups of irregularly-ovoid, sucker- 

 like objects by means of which the parasite is attached to the 

 host (Fig. 2). 



Longitudinal and transverse striations are visible in the ecto- 

 plasm with the high powers of the microscope. The transparent 

 fluid endoplasm of the trunk and primary rami is densely packed 

 with ovoid paraglycogen granules. These granules are widely- 

 separated in the secondary rami and only very sparsely dis- 

 tributed in the ultimate, transparent branches. 



The nucleus (Fig. 3) is a large, ovoid body sometimes visible 

 to the unaided eye in cleared specimens as a minute spot. In 

 large specimens it is .64-.S6 mm. in length. The contents of 

 the nucleus are perfectly transparent except for a single, ec- 

 centrically located, spherical body of light bluish appearance. 



27 



