ON DREPANIDIUM RANARUM. 



6] 



dium ranarum. — It is not at all improbable, though it remains 

 to be definitely demonstrated, that the Coccidium, of which 

 Brepunidium ranarum is " the falciform-phase " or '' Drepani- 

 dium phase " (these terms being applicable to the corresponding 

 phase in all Sporozoa), is already known. 



Eimer (' Psorospermien,' Wiirzburg, 1870) has figured (his 

 figs. 48 to 58) a Coccidium from the alimentary canal of the 

 Frog, and has traced its division into a number oi spherical '&\ioiQ's,. 



On the other hand, Lieberkiihn, in the ' Archiv fiir Aiiat. und 

 Phys.,^ 1854, describes and figures from the Jcidney of the Frog 

 oval spores, which closely resemble in form and size the pseudo- 

 naviculce of a Monocystis (Gregarina), such as M. lumbrici or 

 M. terehella (see fig. 5 c, d). The resemblance, indeed, is so 

 close, in the light of Aimee Schneider^s discoveries that we are 

 justified in concluding that the spores observed by Lieberkiihn 

 were really spores of Sporozoa. Within the sharply-pointed oval 

 spore-case we observe in Lieberkiihn's figures (taf. i, tigs. 4 and 

 6 of his memoir) delicate, elongate, falciform bodies, two to 

 five in number, disposed just as in the naviculoid spores of 

 Monocystis lumbrici, &c. (see fig. 5 a, b and c). 



Fig. 5. — Spores (Pseudouaviculae) of Sporozoa, showing falciform young 

 or Drepanidium-phase within. A B. From the kidney of tlie Frog 

 (after Lieberkiiliu). C. From the Earth-worm (Pseiidonavicula o^ 

 Iflonocystis lumbrici). D. From cysts of Monocystis thalassenice. 



Lieberkiihn did not observe these falciform bodies apart from 

 the naviculoid spore-case, but he describes the active movements 

 of the falciform bodies within the spore-case as " eine iangsame 

 Bewegung herauf und herab : sie beugten sich in der Mitte ihres 

 Korpers knieformig wenn sie an der Spitze des Behalters angekom- 

 men waren und kehrten wieder urn, gelangten bis an die entgegen- 

 gesetzte Spitze, kriimmten sich wieder undkehrtenzur andeni Seite 

 zuriick.^' The spore-case finally burst, and the falciform bodies 

 escaped as spherical corpuscles which elongated themselves again, 

 so as to return to the falciform or rod-like form, and then remained 

 motionless. It appears to be in the highest degree probable 

 that the falciform bodies in Lieberkiihn's naviculoid spores from 



