OPALINID CILIATE INFUSORIANS — METCALF 625 



Metcalf, 1934a, gave a summary of the results of his concomitant 

 studies of the taxonomy and geographical distribution of the Anura 

 and their opalinids. Detailed data may be found in the present paper. 



Ivanic, 1934a, stated that the endospherules are true nuclei. He 

 found that in atypical infection cysts that lack vesicular nuclei the 

 endospherules develop into vesicular nuclei [this report needs con- 

 firmation]. 



Ivanic, 1934b, stated that the vesicular nucleus of 0. obtrigona carries 

 on the linin network one or more plastin masses in addition to the 

 chromatin granules. The chromosomes develop from a spireme at 

 the time of nuclear division. The plastin karyosomes are distributed 

 more or less irregularly to the daughter nuclei, but they may also 

 divide into daughter karyosomes. The persistence of plastin material 

 through the entire division process indicates that it is promitotic in 

 origin. The endospherules described by Mayer in 0. ranarum as 

 being connected with nutritive processes are actually small vesicular 

 nuclei. [Probably an erroneous belief.] The author believes that 

 these can arise "de novo" and grow to normal size. [This needs 

 confirmation.] 



Valkanov, 1934, was of the opinion that the so-called "macro- 

 chromosomes" and nucleoli are homologous and that they are to be 

 considered as trophic elements. He also believed that there is only 

 one type of nuclei in the opalinids against Konsuloff and Ivanic. 



Nie, 1935, described the opalinids found in the amphibians from 

 Nanking, China. Among others the following new species and sub- 

 species were described: Proioopalina caudata microhyla in Microhyla 

 ornata; P. pingi in Rana plancyi Lataste; Zelleriella orientalis in 

 Microhyla ornata Boulenger; Opalina cheni in Kaloula borealis Bar- 

 bour; and 0. obtrigonoidea forma lata in Kaloula borealis Barbour. 



Wenrich, 1935, showed that host-parasite relationship in the 

 Opalinidae is not specific, since each of the four genera of opalinids 

 has species distributed through four families of anurans and two of 

 the genera of these ciliates a]so have species in the tailed Amphibia. 

 He also cited the experimental cross infections of opalinid hosts made 

 by Metcalf (1909), indicating that there is no rigid host-parasite 

 specificity. 



Carini and Reichenow, 1935, described the endamoebae parasitic in 

 Zelleriella from South America. The amoeba trophozoites measure 

 8-14m, the cysts 8-12)u. The structure of the cysts and tropho- 

 zoites of amoebae was described in some detail, and resemblance of 

 this amoeba to Endamoeba ravarum was pointed out. They believe 

 that this amoeba is either identical to E. ranarum or a species (or race) 

 derived from it. 



Carini, 1935, reported the presence of Opalina in Brazil. 



166877 — 40 11 



