254 Dr. O'Bryen Bellingham on Irish Entozoa. 



C Intestines of turbot (Pleuronectes 

 6. Bothriocephalus punctatus*. 1 j^ST^,, pyloric append a ges of 



sea-scorpion (Cottus Scorpius). 



t- ,., , f Abdominal cavity of stickleback 



'* soliaus-X.. | (Gasterosteus aculeatus). 



* The Bothriocephalus punctatus is very common in the intestines 

 of the turbot {Pleuronectes maximus), and of the sea-scorpion or 

 father-lasher {Cottus Scorpius). Dr. Drummond has found it in ad- 

 dition in the brett or brill (Pleuronectes rhombus), and it has been 

 very accurately described by him in the New Series of the ' Mag. of 

 Nat. Hist.' for the year 1839. I shall therefore only observe here, 

 that the peculiarity in this species which is noticed by Rudolphi was 

 apparent in my specimens, viz. that this animal when recent is per- 

 fectly white, but after having remained for some time in spirits of 

 wine or in water, a black spot appeared in the centre of each articu- 

 lation in the situation of the ovaries. My friend Dr. Drummond has 

 also noticed this circumstance, and considers that it is connected in 

 some way with the maturity of the ova. 



t Although I have examined a large number of the Gasterosteus 

 aculeatus, I have not succeeded in finding the Bothriocephalus solidus, 

 and have placed it in this list on the authority of my friend Dr. 

 Allman, the Professor of Botany in Trinity College, Dublin, who dis- 

 covered it in specimens of the Gasterosteus aculeatus from the neigh- 

 bourhood of Cork. Its habitat differs from that of most species of 

 Bothriocephalus, as it occurs only in the cavity of the abdomen, not 

 in the intestinal canal. The animal which it inhabits would appear 

 sometimes to have the power of getting rid of it, as the B. solidus 

 has been found alive in the water of ponds in which these fish are 

 abundant. It is probable that from this circumstance Linnaeus was 

 led to the opinion that the Tania (to which genus it formerly was 

 supposed to belong) could exist out of the bodies of living animals. 

 Dr. Baer relates, that "in an excursion up the Pregel with the late 

 Prof. Eysenhandt in search of water-plants, the first object which at- 

 tracted our attention was a tape-worm ; on continuing our searches we 

 found nearly a dozen in the water, four of which were alive, the others 

 dead or nearly so. This (he adds) brought to my recollection Lin- 

 nseus's Tcenia, found in water. With the exception of vast numbers of 

 the Gasterosteus pungitius, scarcely any other animal was observed in 

 the water. Many of these fish were taken ; in all the abdomen ap- 

 peared much swollen, and on opening them a Bothriocephalus solidus 

 was found, which, when extended, was longer than the fish in which 

 it was contained. Every specimen of fish we opened contained a 

 worm, and the fishermen assured us that they were rarely met with 

 without them. It is supposed that these worms escape, or are forced 

 from the fish into the water, in which they will live for a considerable 

 time." 



