94 



in these four s])ecies of Perieli octa appear to indicate that 

 they will furnish a means of discriminating the species of 

 this genus. Ferri er has already expressed the opinion that the ge- 

 nital papillae furnish useful specific characters; and I am inclined to 

 helieve that the so-called genital papillae (in Perichaeta) are always the 

 orifices of »c.ipsulogenous« glands. Since however these glands in 

 P. Hotillcti are not recognizable externally — and there may be other 

 similar instances — I would rather lay stress upon the number and 

 distribution of the glands themselves. A means of distinguishing many 

 species of Perichaeta is even now (in our presumably limited acquain- 

 tance with the genus) a desideratum. 

 London, Dec. 22n<i 1S87. 



4. An Interesting specimen of Taenia saginata. 



By Frederick T u c k e r m a n , M. D., Amherst, Ma.ss. 



einge<r. .3. Januar IbSS. 



I am indebted to Dr. John G. Stanton, of New London, Conn., 

 for kindly sending me this interesting entozoon. 



The specimen is chiefly remarkable for its unusual length and the 

 malformations which it presents. It consists of one long unbroken 

 chain, four shorter ones, and a few detached portions, the latter con- 

 taining from one to three segments. All of these disjointed parts Avere 

 expelled by their host (with the aid of a powerful anthelmintic) at a 

 single evacuation of the bowels. The head, neck, and cervical joints 

 unfortunately were not found. The long ribbon or chain measures 

 6.516 metres in length and contains 653 joints. The aggregate length 

 of the shorter ribbons and smaller pieces is 0.939 metres and is com- 

 posed of 58 joints. From a careful measurement of the cephalic extre- 

 mity in other Taeniae of this species I estimate the number of missing 

 joints of this region in this specimen at 350. Adding this number of 

 joints to those already enumerated will give a total of 1061 joints in a 

 chain about 7.655 metres long. 



Leuckart, the distinguished helminthologist, in his diagnosis of 

 Taenia saginata gives the length of this species of tape-worm, when ex- 

 tended, as 7 or 8 metres. But at the bottom of p. 427 in the English 

 edition of his classic treatise on »Die menschlichen Farasiten und die 

 von ihnen herrührenden Krankheiten« is the following note : 



»According to Hremser and Die sing, the famous Viennese 

 collection of Helminths contains chains 20 to 24 feet long, very much 

 longer, therefore, than the preserved specimens I have measured, which 

 ■were at most only slightly above 14 feet.« 



