460 PARASITES OF ANIMALS 



anterieure mince, cylindrique, inegale, avec deux petits tcnta- 

 cules en dessous. Le su9oir de Fanus tres grand." ]><>so 

 recognised the identity of this worm with the Distoma coryplicncs 

 of Rudolphi, and systematists generally have adopted his 

 synonymy. In the British Museum Catalogue the Fasciola 

 fusca and F. ventricosa of Pallas are regarded as one and the 

 same species. The existence of two small tentacles is certainly 

 peculiar. 



In 1827 Nardo obtained two very large flukes from the 

 stomach of a fish captured in the Gulf of Venice during the 

 month of September. He calls the fish Prostostegus prototypus t 

 which appears to be the same as the Luvarus imperialis of 

 Rafinesque. One of the parasites, being five inches in length, 

 he named Distoma gigas. His description is as follows : 

 "Distoma teres, rubrum, retractile; poro ventrali minimo cujus 

 apertura magna, rotunda, ciliata ; poro antico terminali, parvo ; 

 collo brevi, retrorsum divergente, extensili, apice angusto, basi 

 lato ; cauda longa, postice incrassata et in apice obtusa oscula 

 donata." The alleged ciliated character of the ventral sucker, 

 was perhaps due to a wrinkled state of the lip. Apart from 

 this character, I see no reason for supposing this parasite to be 

 distinct from the Distoma clavatum procured by Mr Guilding, 

 or the Fasciola ventricosa described by Pallas. The intestines 

 of the fish harbored another parasite (D. Raynerianum) . 

 Unfortunately, Nardo gives no figure of Distoma gigas. It is 

 the longest fluke known to science. 



In the year 1835 Professor Owen communicated the memoirs 

 already alluded to. In his paper he discussed questions relating 

 to the structure of Distoma clavatum, and threw much light 

 upon its anatomy, but I believe that the large t( lateral cavities " 

 described by Owen are neither more or less than the somewhat 

 unusually distended alimentary caeca. 



In 1845 Dujardin placed the worm with the true distomes, 

 yet, at the same time, expressed grave doubts as to whether it 

 were, in any sense, a fluke. " Ce ver," he remarks, " n'est 

 certainement pas un distome ni meme un trematode. Si sa 

 forme exterieure et ses deux oscules lui donnent quelque ressem- 

 blance avec les distomes, sa structure musculeuse la rapproche 

 davantage des Gordius, et son tegument ressemble a celui des 

 siponcles." M. Dujardin examined the specimens preserved 

 in the Paris Museum, and with regard to one particular 

 example, described as " Fasciola, trouve dans la mer de Nice," 



