CESTODES OF WHALES AND DOLPHINS FROM 

 THE DISCOVERY COLLECTIONS 



By S. Markowski 

 (Plates XX, XXI and Text-figs. 1-45) 



MATERIAL AND METHODS 



HE material for this study was collected mainly at whaling stations and on board factory ships by 



T 



various members of the staff of the Discovery Investigations. 1 It consists of eighty-eight samples 

 taken from the intestines and blubber of forty-six Blue Whales (Balaenoptera musculus), eight Fin 

 Whales (B. physalus), thirteen Sei Whales (B. borealis), fourteen Sperm Whales (Physeter catodon) and 

 seven dolphins, namely: two Globicephala edwardi, two Lagenorhynchus obscurus, one L. australis and 

 two Steno bredanensis. Of these, four samples of Tetrabothrins affinis from Blue Whales belong to the 

 collections of the British Museum (Natural History). 



The material comprises intestinal forms of cestodes, as well as several examples of larval stages en- 

 cysted in the blubber. The specimens are on the whole in very good condition, except for a few cases 

 where slight maceration has occurred. In some samples the cestodes have been fixed and preserved 

 attached to portions of the gut. 



The bulk of the collection was preserved in 4% formalin, although some of the worms were fixed in 

 Bouin's solution. 



About 600 slides of serial sections and whole mounts have been made, stained in Ehrlichs' haema- 

 toxylin and counter-stained with erythrosin. The whole mounts, stained in Mayer's paracarmine were 

 cleared in benzyl-alcohol with very good results, even for the larger portions of the strobila. The serial 

 sections have been cut at 10-15// thick. 



The hosts were caught in South Africa (Saldanha Bay, Durban, Cape Town and Simon's Town), 

 the Azores, the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, the South Shetlands and at various positions in the 

 Southern Ocean. The localities are given with the description of each species. 



I have the greatest pleasure in expressing my gratitude to The Royal Society for advancing me a 

 grant from the Browne Research Fund which enabled me to complete this investigation. 



I also take this opportunity of expressing my thanks to Dr N. A. Mackintosh, C.B.E., of the National 

 Institute of Oceanography and to Dr H. E. Bargmann of the same Institute for their kind assistance in 

 the course of this work, and to Mr S. Prudhoe of the British Museum (Natural History). My thanks 

 are also extended to Dr Gwendolen Rees who kindly lent whole mounts of Tetrabothrius from whales. 



ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE FIGURES 



c.s., cirrus-sac. u., uterus. 



e., excretory system. u.o., uterine opening. 



l.m., longitudinal muscles. v., vagina. 



o.v., ovary. v.d., vas deferens. 



t., testis. v.g., vitelline gland. 



1 Now incorporated with the National Institute of Oceanography. 



