273] STUDIES ON GREGARINES— WATSON 63 



STENOPHORA VARIANS Leger and Duboscq 

 [Figures 16 and 17] 

 1903 Stenophora varians Leger and Duboscq 1903a :337-9 



Stenophora: Sporonts solitary, dimorphic, elongate and globular. 

 The elongate forms cylindrical or slightly compressed, slightly attenuate 

 at both extremities, attaining a maximum length of 250/*. Width not 

 stated. Ratio length protomerite : total length : : 1 : 6 to 1 : 7 ; ratio 

 width protomerite : width deutomerite : : 1 : 1. Protomerite cylindro- 

 conical, 1^ times as long as wide, its summit depressed, with an appar- 

 ent pore. Constriction at septum. Deutomerite just below septum a lit- 

 tle narrower than protomerite a short distance above. Deutomerite ir- 

 regularly cylindrical, slightly curved in adults, truncate or broadly 

 rounded behind. Nucleus spherical with a large karyosome. Endocyte 

 of protomerite consisting of large deeply staining bodies, of deutomerite 

 large non-staining bodies with a few scattered chromatic bodies. 



The globular sporonts more rare than the elongate ones but coexist- 

 ing with the latter. Maximum length 35 to 40/a. Deutomerite large, globu- 

 lar protomerite, cylindro-conical and shorter than in the elongate forms. 

 A small papilla at anterior end. Protomerite shows same staining reac- 

 tion as elongate forms and the nucleus is relatively larger, with a much 

 larger karyosome. 



Taken at Ajaccio, Corsica. Host: Schizophyllum corsicum Brol. 

 Habitat : Intestine. 



Relative to the dimorphism, the authors make these remarks : 



"Au sujet de interpretation de ces deux formes de Stenophora dans un 

 meme bote, on peut emettre plusieurs hypotheses : On bien la forme globuleuse, 

 on raison de sa petite taille represente un stade tres jeune de la Gregarine; ou 

 elle represente une espece distincte de la forme allongee ; ou bien enfin il s'agit 

 d'un dimorphisme sexuel dans des individus d'une seule et meme espece. Nous 

 nous rattachons d'autant plus volontiers a cette derniere hypothese que Ton ob- 

 serve assez souvent de jeunes formes allongees de volume bien inferieur a celui 

 des formes globuleuses." 



The great difference in maximum lengths recorded of the elongate 

 (250 fj.) and the globular (40/i.) forms of this species would hardly indi- 

 cate that the latter is mature. The immature specimens of most species 

 of gregarines are more or less globular, stain deeper, have a protomerite 

 which changes but little in shape as maturity approaches, and possess 

 nuclei much larger in proportion than the adults, and often of a differ- 

 ent shape from that of the adults. I have often seen these globular indi- 

 viduals as large or a little larger than other individuals which had al- 



