DESCRIPTIONS OF NEW SPECIES. 133 



in the right ventricle, which by rough manipulation I must have 

 displaced. This find put me on the right track, but many birds 

 were sacrificed in the hunt before I could find a second specimen, 

 and definitely pronounce on the exact spot they occupy. At last I 

 observed a minute white tubercle, the size of a No. 6 shot, appa- 

 rently lying in the pocket of a semilunar valve, and, on trying to 

 turn this out, had the satisfaction of finding it was the much sought- 

 for worm lying coiled up with its mate, either free in the pouch of 

 the valve, or just under the endocardium. By splitting up the 

 pulmonary artery and aorta from the ventricles, one or more of 

 these pale yellowish tubercles can be found in every magpie. I have 

 seen the valves nearly all occupied by them, some of considerable 

 size, so that the circulation must be interfered with to quite a serious 

 extent. The worms are found sometimes in the pulmonary valves, 

 sometimes in the aortic, and often in both. A perfect tubercle con- 

 tains a pair, male and female. I think they are encysted, or at 

 least under the lining membrane of the valve, but their presence 

 causes so little irritation that the delicate membrane covering them 

 is quite transparent, allowing good eyes to see distinctly through it 

 the coils of the worms. To see these one must look into the opened 

 pouch. I believe the young are emitted into the circulation through 

 a minute aperture in the covering. In case the specimens I 

 send do not turn out well, I give you a short description of the 

 parents : — 



*' Male.— Length, |" 



Diameter at neck, ^^". 

 Greatest diameter, y^-^-''. 

 Diameter of alimentary canal, 4^''. 

 Ditto testicle, 5^". 



" Tail strongly incurvated. Double spicule. One or two very 

 minute caudal papillae. Blunted and slightly bilobed tail taper- 

 ing down from body. Mouth simple. (Esophagus straight, 

 -^q" in length, terminating in alimentary canal by gradual dila- 

 tation. Alimentary canal parallel to testicle, straight, and filled 

 with dark granular material. Integument in both sexes covered 

 with minute characteristic tubercles or bosses ; these are largest 

 about the middle of the animal, and less marked towards head 

 and tail. 



