ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 563 



Movements and Structure of Spirochaetes.* — H. B. Fantliain has 

 studied S. balbi'aiui, from the oyster, and S. anodonUe, from the fresh- 

 water musseL The motion of these Spirochtetes appears to be resolvable 

 into at least two components : (1) a vibratory motion of flexion of the 

 body, mainly for progression ; and (2) a spiral or corkscrew movement 

 of the body as a whole, due to the winding of the membrane. The 

 corkscrew motion is especially well seen in the case of S. anodontce, which 

 has pointed ends. These Spirocha3tes seem to move more quickly than 

 trypanosomes, and with an added corkscrew motion. Also the body of 

 a SlyiriUum seems more rigid than that of a Spirochete in motion, while 

 flagella are present in the case of true Spirilla. Both these Spirochetes 

 possess a spirally wound membrane, which is a lateral extension of 

 the eetoplasmic periplast, and is composed of longitudinally arranged 

 " myoneme " fibrille. The myonemes set up transverse movements in 

 the surface of the body, manifested as waves passing down the body in 

 a direction opposite to that in which the organism moves. Regarding 

 the so-called " ciliate " (flagellate) stages in Spirochetes described l)y 

 some authors, the apparent flagella or cilia are really " myoneme " fibrils 

 split off from the membrane during its rupture. The flagella are never 

 seen during life. 



Sporozoon Parasite of Ciona intestinalis.f — F. van Gaver and 

 P. Stephan explain that the so-called pericardial body of Ciona intesti- 

 nalis is the product of a sporozoon parasite. In very young Ciona this 

 body consists of desquamated muscle fibres inclosing fairly long fusiform 

 elements which are apparently immobile. In older Ciona these elements 

 become rounded or irregular, vary in size, and are inclosed in a granular 

 mass from which the pericardial body derives its cohesion. This parasite, 

 which is fully described, has vacuolar protoplasm, and a single or a small 

 number of nuclei. Its exact nature has not yet been determined ; the 

 authors designate it Cardiosporidium cionce. 



Life-history of Pansporella perplexa g. et sp. n.| — E. Chatton out- 

 lines the life-history of Pansporella iJerplexa g. et sp. n. The vegeta- 

 tive amoeboid stages are found in the mid-gut of Daplmia. After 

 being evacuated they reproduce by sporulation within a cyst. The spores 

 are bi-nucleated and have a cellulose membrane ; their maturation is 

 accompanied by autogamic sex-phenomena. The aflinities are very 

 enigmatic. 



New Haplosporidian Genus in Daphnia.§ — E. Chatton records from 

 the reptile tank in the museum of Paris, Daplmia puUx and D. magna 

 infected with a sporozoon parasite, whose effects are fatal. The 

 parasite is locahsed exclusively in the epithelium of the mid-gut, which 

 it fills, completely killing the host. It is a form in which the ripe 

 Plasmodium fragments into a certain number of pleurinucleated elements. 

 The sporulation of this parasite Caidlerya Mesnili g. et sp. n., is de- 

 scribed. The form falls to be placed between the families Haplosporidiide 

 and Coelosporidiide. 



* Auu. Nat. Hist., xix. (1907) pp. 493-501. 

 t C.R. Soc. Biol. Paris, Ixii. (1907) pp. 556-7. 



+ Bull. Soc. Zool.^ France, isxxii. (1907) p. 13. See also C.R. Soc. Biol. Paris, 

 Isii. (1907) 3 pp. § C.R. Soc. Biol. Paris, Ixii. (1907) pp. 529-31. 



Oct 16th, 1907 2 P 



