GENERAL SYSTEMATIC BACTERIOLOGY 441 



of their delicacy. It may be that they are descended from organisms of the genus 

 Martellillus. 



Type species R. fragilis nov. sp. Characters of genus. 



Reducibacteriaceae. A family of bacteria proposed by Orla-Jensen 

 (1909, p. 333) to include those genera of his order Cephalotrichinae 

 which are spiral or bent in shape, which are active reducers, which do 

 not contain sulphur or bacteriopurpurin, which are in filaments and 

 which do not show a tendency to branching. The characteristic 

 reaction may be regarded as the reduction of nitrates to nitrites. The 

 genera included are: Solidovibrio and Spirillum. 



Reglillus. A generic name proposed by Heller (1922, p. 23) for a 

 genus of the Putrificoideae with the following description. 



Putrificoideae that show to the eye little proteolj^tic action on meat. They 

 may or maj' not blacken it slightly, but the meat particles do not diminish in 

 size. Sugars are attacked. Milk is digested. Gram-positive rods which readily 

 form oval subterminal or median spores. Colonies minute, opaque, complex, 

 yellow. Typically toxic tissue invaders which produce in the guinea-pig a clear 

 white oedema that does not rapidly lose its oedematous nature on section. 



T5'pe species R. progrediens nov. sp. To be described in a future paper. Two 

 species, one found in a case of human gas gangrene (see Barney and Heller), 

 the other in a sheep. 



Rhabdochromatium. A genus of sulfur bacteria proposed by Wino- 

 gradsky (1888, p. 100) as differentiated from Chromatium by the elon- 

 gated rod and spindle shape and through its variable growth forms. 

 He regarded it as possibly of subgeneric rank under Chromatium. 

 The type species, Rhahdochromatium roseum Win. he regards as proba- 

 bly identical with Rhabdomonas rosea Cohn. Two other species, 

 Rh. minus and Rh. fusiforme were also described. 



De Toni and Trevisan (1889, p. 942) include it as a subgenus of 

 Mantegazzaea with the diagnosis: ''Species chromogenae, haculis granula 

 sulphuris foventibus." Three species are included. 



Rhabdochromatium was recognized by Migula (1900, p. 1048) with 

 the description: "ZeUen frei, stab- und spindelformig, zeitlebens 

 schwarmfahig, mit GeisseLn an den Polen." This description has also 

 been used by Smith (1905, p. 164). 



Orla-Jensen (1909, p. 334) makes this a synonym of Rhabdomonas. 

 This is probably the correct assignment of the genus. 



