GULF OF MEXICO 



247 



17. Thecamoeba munda Sehaeffer, 1926. 



Found by Sehaeffer (192G) among blue-green algae in 

 Key We.xt harbor and in cultures of seaweeds from Tortugas. 



18. Thecamoeba hitla Sehaeffer, 1920. 



Found by Sehaeffer (1920) in cultures in the laboratory 

 at Tortugas and in Cold Spring Harbor. 



19. Thecamoeba rugosa Sehaeffer, 1926. 



Found by Sehaeffer (1926) among blue-green algae at 

 Key We.«t harbor, in a salt water tank in the laboratory at 

 Tortugas, and at Cold Spring Harbor. 



Family HYALODISCIDAE Poche 



20. Undo maris Sehaeffer, 1920. 



Sehaeffer (1926) discovered this amoeba in the salt 

 water tank in the laboratory at Tortugas. 



21. Gnbodiscus gemma Sehaeffer, 1926. 



Found by Sehaeffer (1926) in the salt water tank of the 

 laboratory at Tortugas. 



22. Flamella magnifica Sehaeffer, 1926. 



Sehaeffer (1926) discovered this amoeba among blue- 

 green algae in cultures from Key West and Tortugas. 



23. Cochliopodium gulosum Sehaeffer, 1926. 



In his description of the species Sehaeffer (1926) gave 

 the localities (p. 106) as Cold Spring Harbor and Great 

 South Bay, Long Island, where the organism was found 

 on eelgrass and other seaweed. His table (p. 22) indicates 

 that it was also observed at Tortugas. 



Order 4 TESTACEA Schultze 1854 



Most of the Testacea are fresh-water forms. 

 The writer knows of none reported from the Gulf 

 of Mexico. 

 Order 5 FORAMINIFERA D'Orbigny 1826 



This large group, with many representatives in 

 the Gulf of Me.xico, is treated separately. "* 



Subclass 2 Actinopoda Calkins 1909 



Order 1 HELIOZOA Haeckel 1866 



Most of these organisms are inhabitants of fresh 

 water. The writer does not know of any which 

 have been reported from the Gulf of Mexico. 



Order 2 RADIOLARIA J. Miiller 1858 



The Radiolaria, a verj- large order, are exclu- 

 sively marine and are widely distributed in the 

 warmer waters of the seas. Although they may 

 occur in the Gulf of Mexico, the wTiter is not 

 familiar with studies on them there. 



Class 3 Sporozoa Leukart 1879 



Our knowledge of the Sporozoa of the Gulf of 

 Mexico is practically limited to the information 

 which has growni out of investigations into 



' See article by F. B. Phlegcr and F. L. Parker, pp. 235-241 of this book. 



causes of oyster mortality, especially those recently 

 conducted by the Texas Agricultural and Me- 

 chanical Research Founilation along the coasts 

 of Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi. Although 

 the Sporozoa studied in investigations were pri- 

 marily those parasitic in oysters, several were 

 observed, also, in various decapod Crustacea, and 

 very limited observations were made on forms in 

 annelids. Sporozoa are common parasites in 

 essentially all the major groups of animals, and 

 the few studies on forms from the Gulf give promise 

 that intensive search for members of this neglected 

 group would reveal a great wealth of new and 

 known species there. With one or two exceptions, 

 which are considered below, nothing is known 

 about the general distribution of most species. 



Subclass 1 Telosporidia Schaudinn 



1900 



Order 1 GREGARINIDA Lankester 1866 



Suborder 1 Eugregarinaria Dofle in 1901 



Tribe 1 Haplocyta Lankester 1885 

 Family MONOCYSTIDAE Stein 



1. An "acephaline gregarine" Wichterman, 1942. 

 Host: Pontodrilus bermudensis Beddard, a 



littoral oligochaete. 



Organs involved: Intestine and seminal vesicles. 



Locality: Observed at Loggerhead Key, Tortu- 

 gas. 



Remarks: Wichterman's (1942) figures 18-20 

 suggest that this gregarine may be one of the 

 Monocystidae. Hence, it is placed provisionally 

 in this family. 



Tribe 2 Septata Lankester 1885 

 Family POROSPORIDAE Labb6 



2. Nematopsis ostrearum Prytherch, 1938 (partim) 



.Sprague, 1949. 



Hosts: Molluscan host the oyster Crassostrea 



virginica (Gmelin) ; decapodan hosts the mud 



crabs Panopeus herbstii Milne Edwards, Eurypano- 



peus depressus (Smith) and Eurytium limosum 



(Say). 



Organs involved: The intestinal tract of the 

 crab and almost all the organs (especially mantle) 

 of the oyster. The gamontocj^sts attached to the 

 rectum of the crab occur oiJy in the extreme 

 posterior portion of the organ. 



Widely distributed along the Gulf and Atlantic 

 coasts. Landau ami Galtsoflf (1951) found Nema- 



