XVIII. NOTES ON A SMALL COLLECTION 

 OF PENTASTOMIDS FROM THE INDIAN 



MUSEUM,, CALCUTTA. 



By Mary L. Hett, B.Sc, Professor of Biology, Lady Hardinge 

 Medical College, Delhi. 



The majorit}' of the Pentastomids in this collection from the 

 Indian Museum have already been described by other observers. 

 Several, however, were unnamed specimens which could be referred 

 to four different species; namely: Porocephalns pattoni, Stephens, 

 Poroeephaliis >iionilifor)>iis, Diesing, Porocephalns kachugensis, 

 Shipley, and RaillictielUt bifnrcata var. orientalis, Hett. A few 

 points of interest in each of these are worth noting. 



Porocephalus moniliformis, Diesing. 



[a) One specimen from the stomach of a python. This is of 

 uiterest owing to the fact that adult Porocephalns are found as a 

 rule in the air-passages or body-cavity of their host. Their occur- 

 rence in the stomach and intestine has been recorded in a few 

 instances, but this situation is unusual. 



[b) A larval specimen encysted on the stomach of Tragulus 

 javanicus. It ma}' be noted that T. javanicus is a new host for 

 this species. 



Porocephalus pattoni, Stephens. 



Adult. 



(a) Two 9 , one o* from the lung of Zamenis sp. 

 {b) Two 2 from the coelom of Z. mucosus. 

 Larval forms. 



[c) Encysted specimens from the mesentery of the rat-snake. 

 {d) ,, ,: on the stomach wall of Bungarus 



lasciatus . 



In (c) the specimens were too young to be identified with 

 absolute certainty, but I have little doubt that they belong to 

 P. pattoni. It may be noted with reference to {d) that Bungarus 

 fasciatus is a new host for P. pattoni. 



The occurrence of the encysted forms of this species in snakes 

 (the final host) is also interesting in that it lends support to the 

 view that in at least some species of Porocephalus the life-history 

 is normally carried out in one host. 



Raillietiella bifurcata var. orientalis, Hett. 



A number of specimens from the lungs, intestine and coelom 

 of the common cobra (Naia tri piidiaiis) ; also from the coelom of 



