182 



PROCEEDINGS^ OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



VOL. 50. 



FILARIA SUBCUTANEA von Linstow, 1899, not Parona, 1894. 



Specific diagnosis. — Filaria (p. 179) : Anterior and posterior ends 

 rounded, the posterior end attenuated. Head with four small 

 scarcely recognizable papillae. Intestine pigmented black. 



Male 42 mm. long and 390 ju, thick. Esophagus 875 ju, long. Pos- 

 terior end of body coiled several times. Spicules straight, one 110 ju. 

 long, the other 410 ^ long (fig. 240). Of the six to seven pairs of 

 preanal papillae and the six pairs of postanal papillae, those located 



anteriorly are larger than those lo- 

 cated posteriorly. [In von LinstoAv's 

 figure, one pair of the postanal pa- 

 pillae is strongly suggestive of the 

 pores of the caudal glands.] 



Female 195 mm. long and 570 /x 

 thick. The esophagus is 1.3G3 nun. 

 long. The vulva is located just be- 

 hind the posterior end of the short 

 esophagus and divides the body in a 

 ratio of 1 : 158. The eggs are 18 by 

 14 yL in diameter. 



Host. — Erethizon dorsatum. 

 Location. — Subcutaneous. 

 Locality. — Berlin Zoological Gar- 

 den, Berlin, Germany. 



It has already been noted in the 

 foregoing discussion of Filaria martis 

 that it is perhaps identical with von 

 Linstow's species. The lengths of the 

 female worms are about the same; the presence of four head 

 papillae is claimed for both; they are both recorded from species 

 of the same genus and in the same location. There is a 

 possibility that lack of detailed study or condition of material ac- 

 counts for some of the differences, such as the number of caudal 

 papillae. Papillae are readily overlooked, and in F. martis some 

 writers claim four and some six for the head. There is apparently 

 an error in the statement of von Linstow's measurements. He states 

 that the esophagus in the female is 1 : 143 of the total body length, 

 and that the vulva is behind the posterior end of the esophagus and 

 divides the body in the proportion of 1 : 158. It is evident that the 

 value of the first term, 1, can not be increased without diminishing 

 the second term. 



It has also been noted that Filaria subcutanea Parona, 1894, ante- 

 dates Filaria subcutunea von Linstow, 1899, and that the latter liomo- 



FiG. 240.— Filaria subcutanea. Poste- 

 elon extremity of male. enlarged. 

 After von Linstow, 1899. 



