158 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF [Feb. 



CCELOSPORIDIUM BLATTELL^, A NEW SPOROZOAN PARASITE OF 

 BLATTELLA GERMANICA. 



(Preliminary Note.) 



BY HOWARD CRAWLEY. 



The Malpighian tubules of the so-called Croton bug, BlatteUa gcr- 

 manica L., are the habitat of a Sporozoan parasite which apparently 

 belor^s to the Haplosporidia. This group, which has the value of 

 an order, is divided into several rather poorly defined genera. The 

 animal herewith described does not fit very well into the present 

 scheme of classification, but for the sake of avoiding a needless multi- 

 plication of names, I shall accredit it to the genus Coslosporidium 

 -Mesnil and Marchoux. The creation of a new species is warranted, 

 whereupon, for the time being, the animal may be known as Ccelospo- 

 ridlum hlcUtellce sp. n. 



The life cycle, so far as I have yet been able to trace it, originates as 

 a minute cell of strongly acidophil cytoplasm, containing several 

 granules of chromatin. These granules, which range around one micron 

 in diameter, appear to have the value of nuclei, and they will be so 

 termed in the description which follows. 



At first the cell, or, to follow the terminology suggested by Minchin, 

 the trophozoite, is generally somewhat longer than broad, and lies with 

 its longer axis across the lumen of the tubule . The shape 

 may be as shown in either fig. 1 or 2. One end lies 

 against, and is apparently attached to, the lumen of the 

 tubule. I have not been able, however, to determine 

 the exact nature of this attachment. Neither in fixed 

 nor fresh preparations were there ever seen any processes 

 such as those of the epimerites of polycystid gregarines 

 Pj^ J or the inert pseudopodia of Ophryocystis. The attach- 



ment seems merely to be a close apposition, and there is 

 no objection to so regarding it. For in consideration of the narrow 

 lumina of the tubules and the lack of fluid currents passing through 

 them, the parasite is in little danger of being carried away. Certain 

 appearances, however, suggest that the maintainance of the usual 

 position is aided by the presence of an amorphous substance which lies 



