FAMILY III. ARTHROMITACEAE 



835 



at various loci on the long axes of the tri- 

 chomes. Motile strains possess peritrichous 

 flagella. 



Anaerobic, although probably micro- 

 aerophilic (see Simons, Zent. f. Bakt., I 



Abt., Orig., 88, 1922, 508 and 509; and Hoc- 

 quette, Compt. rend. Soc. Biol., Paris, 113, 

 1933, 779). 



Habitat: Found in the alimentary tracts 

 of various animals. 



FAMILY III. ARTHROMITACEAE PESHKOFF, 1940. 

 (Jour. Gen. Biol. (Russian), /, 1940, 611 and 616.) 



Ar.thro.mi.ta'ce.ae. M.L. mas.n. Arthromitus type genus of the family; -aceae ending to 

 denote a family; M.L. fem.pl.n. Arthromitaceae the Arthromitus family. 



Trichomes probably divided into cells although septa (protoplasmic?) disappear during 

 sporulation. Disc-like nuclei alternate with thin protoplasmic segments (septa). Spores 

 form in the distal ends of trichomes. Non-motile. The trichomes are attached by a spherical 

 body in groups to the intestinal walls of insects, crustaceans and tadpoles. 



Genus I. Arthromitus Leidy, 1849. 

 (Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., Philadelphia, 4, 1849, 227.) 



Ar.thro.mi'tus. Gr. noun arthrus a joint; Gr. noun mitus a thread; M.L. mas.n. Arthro- 

 mitus jointed thread. 



Characters as for the family. Although the descriptions are worded somewhat differently, 

 there does not seem to be any essential difference between this and the following genus. 



The type species is Arthromit^is cristatus Leidy. 



1. Arthromitus cristatus Leidy, 1849. 

 (Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., Phila., 4, 1849, 227; 

 also see Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci., Phila., 8, 

 1881, 443.) 



cris.ta'tus. L. adj. cristatus crested. 



Cells short, cylindrical and uniform with 

 no trace of interior structure, 0.6 by 2.75 

 microns. Trichomes delicate, straight or 

 inflected, growing in tufts usually of mod- 

 erate density, from minute, attached, yel- 

 lowish, rounded or ovoid bodies. Breadth of 

 trichome, 0.6 micron; length, 67 to 543 mi- 

 crons. 



Source: Found in the intestines of the 

 milliped (Julus marginatus) and the termite 

 (Reticulitermes Jlavipes) . Also found on the 

 mucous membrane of the small intestine of 

 Julus marginatus, occasionally on the same 

 surface at the commencement of the large 

 intestine, on any part of the exterior sur- 

 face of protozoa infesting these cavities and 

 also on any part of the surface of Entero- 

 bryus elegans. 



2. Arthromitus intestinalis (Valentin, 

 1836) Peshkoff, 1940. {Hygrocrocis intes- 



tinalis Valentin, Repert. f. Anat. u. Phys., 

 1, 1836, 110; Peshkoff, Jour. Gen. Biol. (Rus- 

 sian), 1, 1940, 597.) 



in.tes.ti.na'lis. L. pi. noun intestinae 

 intestines; M.L. adj. intestinalis pertaining 

 to the intestines. 



Cells are somewhat variable in size; how- 

 ever, generally speaking, they are approxi- 

 mately as wide as they are long. Trichomes 

 are long, non-motile and grow indefinitely. 

 In the spore regions of these trichomes there 

 is a spore per cell; these sporogenous cells 

 exhibit no hypertrophy. According to Leidy 

 (Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., Phila., 4, 1849, 227) 

 these trichomes attach themselves to the 

 intestinal wall by means of a sort of globu- 

 lar, common holdfast. 



Source: Found in the intestine of the 

 cockroach (Blatta orientalis). 



Habitat: Found in the intestines of cer- 

 tain insects. 



3. Arthromitus nitidus Leidy, 1852. 

 (Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge, 

 5, 1852, 35.) 



