165] PROTEOCEPHALIDAE—LA RUE 165 



PROTEOCEPHALUS PENTASTOMA (Klaptoez) 



[Figs. 126-129] 



1906: Ichthyotaenia pentastoma Klaptoez 1906:130-133 

 1911 : Proteocephalus pentastomus La Rue 1911 :475 



Specific Diagnosis: Characters of the genus. Cestodes of small 

 size. Strobila up to 28 mm. long ; maximum breadth of same 1.19 mm. 

 Neck none. First proglottids many times broader than long. Mid- 

 proglottids 1.19 mm. broad, 0.21 mm. long. Sixth from last pro- 

 glottid 0.59 mm. broad, 0.21 mm. long. Head large, oval in cross- 

 section, 0.975 mm. broad by 0.83 mm. thick. No rostellum, no hooks. 

 Four large suckers, oval or round in outline, 0.50 mm. in diameter, 

 situated in four quadrants. Suckers separated from each other by 

 longitudinal furrows. A true fifth sucker 0.085-0.100 mm. in diameter 

 situated at apex of head. Genital aperture about middle of proglottid. 

 Vagina posterior to the cirrus-pouch. Testes 70-100, arranged irregu- 

 larly between vitellaria with tendency toward formation of two lateral 

 fields. No data on cirrus-pouch and vas deferens. Vitellaria lateral, not 

 voluminous. Ovary bilobed, posterior. Uterus immature. 



Habitat : Polypterus bichir Geoffr., White Nile near Khor Attar. 



Klaptoez (1906) described this species and it has not since been 

 described from the specimens. La Rue (1911:475) gave it a place in a 

 list of species of Proteocephalus. A single specimen was taken by Dr. F. 

 "Werner, Feb. 16, 1905, while making a journey up the Nile river into 

 the Sudan. All data are taken from Klaptoez 's (1906) paper since it was 

 impossible to secure any material for the writer's examination. 



Measurements of the worm are as follows : Total length 28.0 mm. ; 

 lateral diameter of scolex 0.975 mm., dorso-ventral diameter 0.83 mm. ; 

 maximum diameter of suckers 0.5 mm. ; diameter of fifth sucker 0.085- 

 0.10 mm. ; thickness of proglottids near scolex 0.46 mm., breadth 0.87 

 mm., length 0.04 mm. ; maximum breadth of proglottid near middle 

 of the strobila 1.19 mm., length 0.21 mm.; breadth of sixth proglottid 

 from end 0.59 mm., length 0.21 mm. ; breadth of next to last proglottid 

 0.41 mm., length 0.31 mm. ; breadth of last proglottid 0.33 mm., length 

 0.51 mm. The scolex (Figs. 126, 127) is somewhat oval in transection, 

 surpassing the breadth of the first proglottids. It possesses no rostellum, 

 no armature of hooks, but has an apical sucker 0.085-0.100 mm. in 

 diameter. The four equal sized suckers of somewhat oval or round shape 

 vary in size in different individuals. They are about 0.50 mm. in 



