174 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 
4. Genus et sp.incert. Pl. 4, fig. 1. 
Entozoan of Salmo fario, Vaientin, Ueber ein Entozoon im Blute von Salme 
fario, Miiller’s Archiv., 1841, pp. 435, 436, pl. 15, fig. 16; ib. Leydig, 1851, 
Miiller’s Archiv., pp. 11,12; ef. Davaine, Traité des Entozoaires, Paris, 
1860, p. I. 
Ameboid stage.—tIn blood obtained by puncture of the abdominal 
aorta of Salmo fario (brown trout) Valentin found, besides the blood 
corpuscles, some dark globules similar to round pigment cells. They 
have a quick, tremulous motion, also a definitely locomotive one. 
Observed for some time, a clear “tail” comes into view, which later 
elongates; there thus becomes revealed an elongate animal with a rapid 
motion, mostly of rotation, effected by 1 to 3 variable processes of one 
side of the body. Anterior and posterior parts clear; middle portion 
containing numerous dark corpuscles, perhaps pigment particles which 
it had eaten. When rolled up into a bail it often had the appearance 
as though each club-shaped process of the body contained one of the 
globules (pl. 4, fig. le). No finer structure could be detected. Size 7:5 
to 125 uw. Sometimes a round opening appeared to be present at the 
anterior end. The posterior end is somewhat striate. The variable 
processes always appear in the drawing as they would be seen in the 
microscope on the right side. Perhaps the club-shaped peduncles are 
to be reckoned as such. In drawn blood they remain living from 6 to 
8 hours. 
Nature.—These bodies are, Valentin says, probably referable to Pro- 
teus or to Ameba, of which they certainly form a new species, different 
from all of Ehrenberg’s. Doubting at first whether these organisms 
really belonged to the blood, Vaientin investigated the whole fish. He 
failed to find, either on the peritoneum, or in the kidneys, intestines, 
air bladder, brain, ete., any trace of these infusorial Entozoa. Only 
in the fourth ventricle (the favorite seat of the microscopic intestinal 
worms) did he find a single specimen. On the contrary, they were so 
numerous in the blood that often a single droplet contained 10 or more. 
The blood itself presented nothing worthy ofnote. The fishes examined 
showed numerous examples of Ascaris obtuso-caudata Zedér. No other 
intestinal worms were found. 
Leuckart! says: 
Still less is the gregarine nature of the entozoan found by Valentin in the blood 
of the trout to be mistaken. 
Lieberkiihn regarded it as an amceba. It could not, he says, be a 
Gregarine, as it lacks a nucleus.” 
Although this form has been referred to the Myxosporidia by Leydig, 
the evidence to sustain such reference is wanting, and at present its 
myxosporidian affinities can not be regarded as proven. 
1 Archiv. f. physiol. Heilkde, 1852, x1, p. 431. 
2Muller’s Archiv., 1854, pp. 11,12. For Lieberkiihn’s subsequent change of view 
as to the necessity of the presence of a nucleus in the Gregarines, see pp. 95, 96, 
