ART. 17 PARASITES OF AMPHIBIA AND EEPTILIA HAEWOOD 53 



Family DIAPHANOCEPHALIDAE Travassos, 1919 

 Genus KALICEPHALUS Molin, 1861 



The "worms belonging to this genus are very widely distributed, 

 but many of them are imperfectl}^ Iniown, having been inadequately 

 described by earlier workers ; and as yet no redescriptions are avail- 

 able. Only two species, K. coronellae and K. parvus Ortlepp (1923), 

 have been adequately described from North America. MacCallum 

 (1921) described a new species of nematode, Strongyliis hoae^ from 

 the stomach of Boa constrictor. He lists also a number of other 

 snakes, many of them North American species, as hosts to this para- 

 site. His description is very general, and it would be impossible to 

 determine the genus of the worm were it not for the figure, which 

 leaves no doubt that the worm belongs to the genus KalicephalK^. 

 The name hoae is preoccupied in this genus, and as both Molin and 

 Blanchard have described worms of this genus from Boa constrictor, 

 MacCallum's trophotype, it seems best to let MacCallum's species 

 sink into synonymj^ with K. hoae (Blanchard). 



I have collected two species of this genus from Texas snakes, and 

 both of them appear to be new. I have followed Ortlepp's example, 

 however, and have disregarded Molin's species, which have not been 

 redescribed, as none of my worms are from the same hosts and as his 

 descriptions are too brief for purposes of modern taxonomy. 



KALICEPHALUS AGKISTRODONTIS. new species 



Plate 5, Figube 1 



Specific diagnosis. — Kalicephalus: A light orange or yellow nema- 

 tode, with a smooth cuticula. The mouth capsule is typical for the 

 genus. The dorsal gutter extends about half the distance into the 

 mouth capsule. The esophagus is distinctly thickened in the pos- 

 terior half. The nerve ring encircles the esophagus about one-third 

 of the distance from its anterior end. The excretory pore is very 

 faintly indicated and usually lies at the level of the thickest portion 

 of the esophagus. The intestine is an inconspicuous tube among the 

 reproductive organs and glands. 



Male: Body length varies from G.5 to 9.5 mm; the width from 

 0.2 to 0.3 mm. The buccal capsule is 0.13 to 0.16 mm long and of 

 approximately the same width at the base. The esophagus is 0.31 

 to 0.34 mm long ; the nerve ring is 0.22 mm to 0.28 mm from the ante- 

 rior end, and the excretory pore 0.33 to 0.4 mm. The spicules are 

 long, slender, and alate. They are 0.46 to 0.58 mm long and about 

 lOfjL wide at the anterior end. The alae are transversely striated. A 

 well-cutinized gubernaculum is present, but its size is somewhat vari- 



