TKEMATODE GENUS BRACHYCOELIUM — BYRD 185 



BRACHYCOELIUM CRASSICOLLE (Rudolphi, 1809) 



I have no complete description of tliis species and am unable, 

 from the descriptions and illustrations available, to assign any of 

 the specimens in the present collection to it. B. crassicolle is referred 

 to many times in the literature and appears to be the only member 

 of the genus thus far recorded for continental Europe. In dis- 

 cussing the species, Stafford (1903) states that B. hospitale is very 

 similar to B. crassicolle. "The internal organization, so far as it is 

 known for both worms and so far as one can judge who has a 

 practical acquaintance with only one of them, appears to be identi- 

 cal ... It would seem that B. hospitale is somewhat smaller and 

 slenderer than B. crassicolle.'''' NicoU (1914) remarks: "At first 

 sight they {B. obesum) appear to be identical with B. salamandrae 

 {=B. crassicolle)., but their exceedingly small size and the fact that 

 even the smallest was fully matured, raised the suspicion that this 

 could not be the case ... It was difficult, however, to obtain other 

 grounds for regarding them as a distinct species." 



BRACHYCOELIUM HOSPITALE Stafford. 1900 



Plate 8, Figure 1 



This species of fluke was described by Stafford (1900) from the 

 Canadian salamanders Triturus viridescens and Plethodon erythro- 

 notus. It has been reported recently by Harwood (1932) from the 

 grass frog {Rana sjjhenocejyhala) from the vicinity of Houston, Tex. 

 I assign to this species eight specimens taken from the duodenum of 

 the salamanders Airibystoma opacum and Plethodon glutinosus., col- 

 lected from the vicinity of Pearl River, La, In this material there 

 are certain differences in anatomical details that may be noted. Most 

 of the specimens fall within the range of the smallest forms described 

 by Stafford. The acetabulum is consistently smaller than the figures 

 given by Stafford would indicate, making the size ratio of the oral 

 sucker and acetabulum approximately 8 : 5. The intestinal caeca 

 terminate anterior to the level of the anterior margin of the acetab- 

 ulum. The ova seem to be a few microns narrower than the dimen- 

 sions given in the original description. The testes average about 

 0.18 mm long and 0.17 mm wide, being thus slightly larger than the 

 ovary, which measures 0.11 mm long and 0.134 mm wide. Stafford 

 states that the testes are slightly larger than the ovary. The cuticle 

 very definitely bears spines as far posterior as the level of the testes. 



BRACHYCOELIUM MESORCHIUM, new species 



Plate 8, Figtjbes 2, 3 



More than 30 specimens of this species were taken from the small 

 intestine of the salamander Desmognathus fuscus fuscus., collected 



