PISCES 459 



described by Prof. Owen was formerly in the collection of the 

 Rev. Lansdown Guilding. In Dr Baird's catalogue the specimens 

 presented by Mr Bennett are stated to have come from the 

 stomach of a bonito, and probably Mr Guilding' s specimens 

 may be referred to the same " host." Be that as it may, the 

 specimens differ from each other in a very striking manner. 

 In the year 1 730 M. Garsin first described this worm under the 

 generic title of Hirudinella. He says : " Get insecte tire de 

 Festomac de la Bonite ne vecut qu' environ deux heures. 

 Expose a Fair il etoit languissant, et reprenoit de la vivacite 

 dans de Feau de mer. II diminua sensiblement de volume 

 pendant qu'il vivoit encore." M. Garsin's description is accom- 

 panied by three figures. His specimens do not appear to have 

 exceeded \\" in length. In 1774 Pallas described a trematode 

 (Fasciola ventricosa). It measured two inches in length. All 

 that he says regarding its source is as follows : " Ex Amboyna 

 missum fuit singulare hoc molluscum, quod ad aliud quam Fas- 

 ciolarum genus referre non potui, in quo quasi gigas erit." He 

 remarks upon its pale white color, and notices particularly the 

 soft elastic body proper, which when wounded gave out a dark 

 matter resembling soot. This material, when examined with 

 the microscope, appeared fresh ; it was not the result of decom- 

 position. Pallas also gives many other details, accompanied by 

 a figure. In 1790 Menzies likewise described and figured a 

 fluke about two inches long. He calls it Fasciola clavata : 

 " It is of whitish color, somewhat pellucid, discharging at its 

 mouth a black-colored fluid, which can easily be perceived 

 through its body. I have often found it," he adds, " in the 

 maws of the bonito, between the tropics in the Pacific Ocean." 

 Notwithstanding the similarity of description, Menzies does not 

 appear to have recognised the identity of his worm with that 

 described by Pallas. Prof. Owen, however, subsequently estab- 

 lished this identity, and referred to this species as the Fasciola 

 clavata seu ventricosa. On the other hand, the British Museum 

 Catalogue represents Pallas's worm as specifically distinct from 

 that of Menzies, but as identical with the specimen described 

 by Prof. Owen from Mr Guilding' s collection. 



In 1802 Bosc described and figured a trematode under the 

 title of Fasciola fusca. This he obtained from the intestines 

 of a dorado. In form it differs considerably from the fore- 

 going species. Bosc's description runs as follows : " Brune, 

 la partie posterieure tres-renflee, presque ovale, la partie 



