OTHER FLAGELLATES 



111 



With a mean of 14fi, and the posterior 

 flagellum is 9 to 26|j, long with a mean of 

 17jLt. Simitch et al. (1959) found it in 

 2% of 1800 pigs in Yugoslavia. 



FAMILY RETORTAMONADIDAE 



Members of this family have 2 or 4 

 flagella, of which 1 is trailing, a single 

 nucleus and a cytostome with supporting 

 fibrils. There are 2 genera of veterinary 

 interest, Retortamonas and Chilomastix . 



Genus RET0RTAA10NAS 

 Grassi, 1879 



The body is usually piriform or fusi- 

 form, drawn out posteriorly, and plastic. 

 There is a large cytostome near the an- 

 terior end containing in its margin a 

 cytostomal fibril which extends across 

 the anterior end and posteriorly along 

 each side. An anterior flagellum and a 

 posteriorly directed, trailing flagellum 

 emerge from the cytostomal groove. The 

 cysts are piriform or ovoid, have 1 or 2 

 nuclei, and retain the cytostomal fibril. 

 A synonym of this genus is Embadonionas 

 Mackinnon, 1911. Species occur in var- 

 ious insects, amphibia, reptiles and mam- 

 mals. (Ansari, 1955, 1956). 



Retortamonas intestinalis (Wenyon 

 and O'Connor, 1917) Wenrich, 1932 (syns. , 

 Embadomonas intestinalis, Waskia intes- 

 tinalis) occurs in the cecum of man and 

 probably also in the chimpanzee, macaques 

 and other monkeys. Dobell (1935) was un- 

 able to infect a Macaca mulatta and a M. 

 sinica with cultures of R. intestinalis from 

 man, but nevertheless believed it likely 

 that the Retortamonas of man and maca- 

 ques belong to the same species. It is not 

 common in man, and is non- pathogenic. 



The trophozoites oi R. intestinalis 

 are elongate piriform, 4 to 9|i.long and 3 

 to 4/i wide. The cysts are uninucleate, 

 piriform, 4. 5 to 7fj, long and 3 to 4. Sjj. 

 wide and have a rather thick wall. This 

 species can be cultivated in the usual cul- 

 ture media for intestinal protozoa. 



Retortamonas ovis (Hegner and Schu- 

 maker, 1928) (syn. , Einbadoi)iO)ias ovis) 

 was described from trophozoites and cysts 

 in cultures from sheep feces in Maryland. 

 The trophozoites are piriform and average 

 5.2 by 3.4^L. 



Retortamonas cuniculi (Collier and 

 Boeck, 1926) (syn. , Embadomonas cuni- 

 culi) occurs in the cecum of the rabbit. 

 The trophozoites are generally ovoid but 

 occasionally have a tail-like process; they 

 measure 7 to 13 by 5 to 10 |U . The cysts 

 are oval and measure 5 to 7 by 3 to 4 ji . 

 Collier and Boeck (1926) found this species 

 in 1 of 50 rabbits. It is apparently non- 

 pathogenic. 



Genus CHILOMASTIX 

 Alexeieff, 1912 



The body is piriform and plastic, with 

 a large cytostomal groove near the anterior 

 end containing in its margin a cytoplasmic 

 fibril which extends across the anterior end 

 and posteriorly along each side. The nu- 

 cleus is anterior. There are 3 anteriorly 

 directed flagella and a short fourth flagel- 

 lum which undulates within the cytostomal 

 cleft. Cysts are formed. Synonyms of this 

 genus are Macrostoma Alexeieff, 1909 and 

 Fanapepea Prowazek. Chilomastix is 

 found in mammals, birds, reptiles, am- 

 phibia, fish, insects and leeches. All spe- 

 cies are apparently non- pathogenic. 



Chilomastix mesnili (Wenyon, 1910) 

 Alexeieff, 1912 (syns. , Macrostoma 

 mesnili, Chilomastix suis, Chilomastix 

 hominis) is found in the cecum and colon of 

 man, the orang-utan, chimpanzee, a num- 

 ber of monkeys {Macaca, Cercopithecus, 

 Cebus, Pithecus) and the pig. It is quite 

 common in man, having been found in 1 to 

 28% in various surveys; according to 

 Belding (1952), it was found in 3. 4% of 

 35, 577 persons in recent surveys in the 

 United States, and in 6. 1% of 19, 006 per- 

 sons elsewhere in the world. Frye and 

 Meleney (1932) found it in 3 of 127 pigs in 

 Tennessee. Kessel (1928) found it in pigs 

 in California, and Reichenow (1952) in 

 Hamburg, Germany. Simitch et al. (1959) 



