GENUS: PROTRICHOMONAS 679 



plast near the nucleus at the anterior end of the body. One of the flagella 

 functions as a trailing fiagellum. Arising in the blepharoplast and passing 

 through the body to its posterior end is an axostyle. This structure 

 cannot, however, be distinguished in all the forms. Furthermore, the 

 axostyle appears to differ from the corresponding structure in Trichomonas 

 and Eutrichomastix in that it stains deeply with iron hsematoxylin. It is 

 possibly not an axostyle at all in the strict meaning of the term. 



Very frequently Retortamonas occurs in association with Polymastix, 

 which differs chiefly in its peculiarly ridged periplast. Mackinnon (1912) 

 noted that Polymastix not infrequently cast its periplast, with the result 

 that flagellates of the Fefortamonas type resulted. 



Genus: Protrichomonas Alexeieff, 1911. 

 Very closely allied to Retortamonas is the genus Protrichomonas, which 

 was founded by Alexeieff (1911/0 for a flagellate which he discovered 



Fig. 282.— (A) Protrichomonas tegeri (Alexeieff, 1910), from CEsophagus of 

 3IARINE Fish, Box salpa (x 1,500). (B) ProtricJiomonas anatis Kotlan, 1923, 

 IN Rectum of Duck (x 2,000). (A, after Alexeieff, 1910; B, after 

 KOTLAN, 1923.) 



(1910) in the oesophagus of the marine fish, Box boops (Fig. 282). Alexeieff 

 (1910) noted that it had three anterior flagella of equal length arising from 

 a blepharoplast in front of the nucleus. A structure like an axostyle 

 passed backwards through the body from the blepharoplast. He named 

 the parasite provisionally Trichomonas (?) legeri, in spite of the fact 

 that there was no undulating membrane. Later (1911/0 he came to the 

 conclusion that it did not belong to the genus Trichomonas, and placed it 

 in a new genus, Protrichomonas. 



Kotlan (1923) ascribed to this genus, under the name P. anatis, a 

 flagellate which he found in the intestine of ducks and other aquatic birds 



