1 72 REPORT OP THE COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



3. Genus et sp. incert. 1^1. 2, fig. 3. 



Parasite of Godiis c«//«r(rts, Miiller «fc Retzius, 1812, Uober parasiiische liild- 

 nngen; 1. Ueber eiue eigentliiiiiiliolic Kranklioit der Schwiiiiinblase beim 

 Dorscb, (iadiiH caJlarias, Miillei'.s Aichiv., pp. 19.3-8, pi. 8, fig. 1 ; ib., Raver 

 1813, Rayer's Archiv. de M<:'d. comp., i, pp. 281, 287-11, pi. 9, fig. 11 ; ib., Ley- 

 dig, 1851, Miiller's Arcbiv., p. 22, mention only ; })sorospernis of G. callaiias, 

 Robin, 1853, Hist. Nat. V(5g(5t. Parasites, pp. 291,309, pi. 14, fig. 1; ? psoro- 

 spenu of bladder of codfish, St. George, 1879, Ucber die Feinde der Fische, 

 Giro. 3, Deutsch. Fiscli-Verein, p. 178, and Rep. U. S. Fish Com. for 1878 

 (1880),vi, p, 510; Myxosporidian? Coccidian? Biitschli, 1882, Bronn'sThier- 

 Reich, 1, p. 591, footnote; psorosjierm of Gadits merlucchis (error)' Bal- 

 biani, 1883, Jouru. de Microgr., vii, pp. 14.5, 280; ib. (error),' Balbiani, 1884, 

 L«^(;'ous sur les Sporozoaires, p. 122; ? psorosperras of cod, v. d. Borne, 

 1886, Handb. d. Fischzucht-u. Fisch(^rci, p. 211.2 



Adult unknown. 



Cyst. — Unknown. Pathologic formation consisting of a whitish-yel- 

 low, pasty mass drawing- out into threads of a greasy, dirty character, 

 mostly diffluent (evidently less advanced), with a firmer portion surround- 

 ing the softer, in quantity about G fluid ounces, odorless even after several 

 days exposure to the air; microscopic examination showing it to consist 

 of the below-described corpuscles with a small amount of granular 

 matter, the whole imbedded in and held together by a mucoid sub- 

 stance. 



Spore. — Best described by comparison to a ribless ventricose Navi- 

 cula or to Agardh's Frustula caffeaformis, elliptic, length pretty uni- 

 formly 14 to 17 //, consisting of two valves, the substance of which is 

 shown by complete decomposition upon ignition to be nonsiliceous; 

 tlieir carbon incinerates with dit'ticulty ; each valve of an elliptic outline 

 with a convex outer and a concave inner surfiice,»usually in contact 

 with its fellow of the opposite side by the inwardly convex middle 

 portion of its border, the borders of the valves diverging towards their 

 ends; sometimes obliquely set so as to be in contact by one end only, 

 sometimes in contact for their whole length, thus forming a lenticular 

 corpuscle, along the median line of which the junction can be plaiidy 

 traced J middle of valves cemented together by a mass occupying part 

 of the body cavity; mass showing more or less plainly a number of 

 large and small granules, and apparently destitute of a surrounding 

 membrane. 



Development. — By far the largest number of the corpuscles are desti- 

 tute of a surrounding membrane; some were, however, observed heai)ed 



' Prof. Balbiani misquotes the name of fclic host as " the merluche, Gadiis mcrluccina." 

 The context (he refers to the diseased air bladder) renders it evident that this is an 

 error for G. callarias, and not (as might be expected) for G. merlanf/us. Inleventially 

 from his language he regards the form as myxosporidian. Perugia (Boll. Scientif., 

 Pavia, 1890, xii, p. 134) has followed Balbiani's misquotation. 



*"With the cod [Gadiis ■morrhua'\ and maclverel \^Scomhcr scomhrim'] the develop- 

 ment of large psorosperni-lum])S with great emaciation and later ulceration is very 

 well known, and not rarely there occurs in freshwater fishes, from the same cause, a 

 great mortality." 



