A remarlcahle C'y slice reus //oz/j a rare Dolj'hin, 417 



XLT. — A rcmarJcahle CystioerciH from a rare Dolphin 

 (CysticcMCus TtKuiiB Grimaldii, Muniez^ 1889). By 11. A. 

 13AYLIS, M.A. 



(Published by permission of the Trustees of the British Museum.) 



In ^lay 1917 a specimen of the rare dolphin Lagenorhunchus 

 acutus was stranded at Skognoss, on the Lincohishire coast. 

 It was sent to the British Musouni (Natural History), and 

 duriiijjf its dissection by Mr. W. P. Pycraft there were found 

 uiuhM- the peritoneum large numbers of cysts. These coii- 

 tiiine 1 blood-stained fluid, and in each of them, b'^'^o ^^^^ '" 

 the fluid, was what appeared to be a Cyslicercus. In some 

 cases thi-re were also two or three hard calcareous concretions 

 in the fluid, and in one cyst the fluid was milky and opaque. 



A number of the cysticerci were carefully preserved by 

 Dr. W. T. Caiman, to whom I am indebted for the foregoing 

 details of infoiination. Dr. Caiman also observed that on 

 removal from the host (which had been dead at least eleven 

 days) the worms still showed signs of life, and "responded 

 by feeble but quite distinct contractions when prodded with 

 a needle." 



'Ihe worm ajipears to be identical with a form described 

 by Moniez (1880) under the name of " Cysticercus Twnice 

 Grimaldii " ^, the sexually mature form of which is unknown. 

 Alihough I^Ioniez observed the most striking feature of the 

 animal — viz., its long neck — he does not describe the anatomy 

 very fully, and gives no account of the important characters 

 of the scoiex. Further, no figures of this remarkable form 

 are given. It is thought worth while, therefore, to give here 

 a somewhat fuller descrij)tion, including some account of the 

 scolex, which has features of systematic value. 



Anatomy. 



The cysticerci are yellowish-white in colour (in spirit) and 

 are of very variable size and shape. The length varies ironi 

 about 8 to 25 mm., according to age and state of contraction. 



* The Cysticercus T(cni(B Grimaldii is apparently closely similar to, if 

 not identical with, Steiiottcuia dtlp/iini, Ger\a\», lb70; from this author's 

 description it appears thiit he took the "' neck " to be the worm itself, and 

 the bladder of the cysticercus to bo a second cyst containing it. 



