H^MATOZOA FROM SOME CEYLON REPTILES. 181 



inclined to consider them as of the nature of plastids. However, 

 I do not wish to make any very definite statement just at present. 

 Besides these " red bodies," as I have called them, there may be 

 many staining granules present in certain cases. 



The slender recurved type is much less numerous in the blood 

 than the broad type. It is tempting to consider the recurved 

 type with the pale protoplasm and the dense nucleus as a male 

 gametocyte, and the broad form as the female gametocyte, but 

 I do not at present see any very striking evidence to support such 

 a view. 



Multiplication occurs in the spleen and to a lesser extent in the 

 liver, the parent organism giving rise to eight reproductive bodies. 

 These, it is interesting to note, are found to lie in pairs, each pair 

 being enclosed in a dehcate boat-shaped capsule. This is very well 

 seen in the live specimen. 



In the ahmentary canal of the little water leech both the endo- 

 corpuscular forms become motile, but I have not as yet got the 

 details of their further development. 



The Ceylon lizards do not seem to harbour protozoon parasites 

 to any great extent — a circumstance contrasting with the con- 

 ditions obtaining in other countries. Thus the common Calotes 

 and the beautiful Brahminy Hzard, which the ancient Sinhalese 

 naturalists firmly beheved to be hatched out of cobra eggs, and 

 the skink and the horned up-country lizard were all negative, so 

 also the common little house gecko who lives on the walls and 

 eats flies. 



Two species of forest gecko, however — Hemidactylus triedrus and 

 Hemidactylus leschenaultii — certainly made up for the deficiencies of 

 the other members of the group. These geckoes, by the way, come 

 from the Trincomalee side of the Island ; it is all very jungly country 

 mth very Uttle cultivation of any kind. 



Hemidactylus triedrus harbours a large haemogregarine mth a 

 double capsule. I have called this Hcemogregarina triedri. Asso- 

 ciated with it in one case was a very delicate trypanosome with a 

 compact circular nucleus ; the smaU kinetonucleus lies immediately 

 behind the trophonucleus, and the body extends for some distance 

 behind the t\\'o nuclei. This trypanosome has a very characteristic 

 appearance. I propose to call it Trypanosoma pertenue ; it is found 

 curiously enough in both Hemidactylus triedrus and Hemidactylus 

 leschenaultii. 



Hemidactylus leschenaultii shows, besides this last- mentioned 

 trypanosome, three other protozoon parasites, which may be found 

 singly or in any combination. The first of these is the Haemocysti- 

 dium described in 1905 by Drs. Castellani and Willey. This is a 

 pigmented organism showing a very marked differentiation into a 

 pale form and a deep form ; the nucleus is a very delicate structure, 



