
135 
ton collections. They have occurred singly in February and July, 
but were not identified. 
The free-swimming larval stages or cercaria of unidentified trem- 
atodes were also found singly in August, September, and October. 
Aspidogaster conchicola v. Baer, which occurs abundantly in the 
mantle cavity and pericardium of many of the Unionide (see Kelly, 
’99), which form great beds on the river bottom, was taken in an 
immature condition in the plankton on June 27. 
Cotylaspis insignis Leidy, likewise a parasite of the Umonide, 
associated with Aspidogaster but confined principally to the mantle 
chamber, was taken in the plankton on February 4. 
CESTODA. 
Tetrarhynchus sp. was adventitious in the plankton on June 27, 
and doubtless of similar origin to the adult trematodes above noted. 
NEMERTINI. 
Fresh-water nemerteans were definitely identified as such in the 
plankton on only two occasions, ifaly, 23, 791304, and March 22, 1897. 
They were doubtless adventitious—from the shore or bottom, where 
they are most abundant. 
NEMATELMINTHES. 
NEMATODA. 
The free-living nematode worms are predominantly shore and 
bottom forms, living in the midst of the decaying organic matter of 
the bottom ooze. Ina habitat such as ours, where the quantity of 
this decaying matter is very great, the nematodes are correspondingly 
abundant, and, owing to the unstable hydrographic conditions, they 
find many opportunities of joining the plankton temporarily. Ac- 
cordingly we find that nematodes are met most frequently and in 
largest numbers in rising flood waters, when the bottom deposits of 
tributaries and the main stream are carried in channel waters as silt. 
Thus, in the month of March nematodes occurred in 13 of the 15 
collections examined, with an average number per m.? of 465, while 
in August they were found in but 8 of 21 collections,and averaged 
only 186 per m.*. So, also, in the winter flood of 1895-96 nematodes 
were found in the plankton almost continuously till the middle of 
