1914 J Sharp: Diplodinium ecaudatum 49 



interest in that it contains a somewhat more complete description of 

 the ' ' Stiitzapparat " in both Ophryoscolex caudatus and Entodinium 

 rostratum, and gives the first account of an observed case of conjuga- 

 tion in these ciliates, i.e., in Cysloposthium bipalmatum, a ciliate from 

 the horse. He says (p. 659) : " Auch mir ist es leider nicht gelungen, 

 mehr als sechs Exemplare, die in Konjugation waren, aufzufmden. 

 Desshalb ist es mir auch unmoglich gewesen, die Vorgange wahrend 

 der Konjugation zu verfolgen und ich kann daher auch nur wenig 

 iiber das Faktum, dass ich Konjugation gefunden habe, hinausgehen. " 



Giinther also finds in Ophryoscolex caudatus and Entodinium ros- 

 tratum certain structures which he describes at some length as "myo- 

 nemes. ' ' These myonemes he finds especially at the bases of the mem- 

 branelles, and at the bases of the spines. I can only say here that I 

 have not been able to find such structures in the species Diplodinium 

 ecaudatum, but that contractile fibers are undoubtedly present in the 

 esophagus of this species. This point will be fully discussed under the 

 description of the esophagus. . 



Some other European investigators and writers, Brandt (1909), 

 Liebetanz (1910), and Doflein (1911), have, during the past few 

 years, published on this group, but their communications have dealt 

 largely with the physiological relations of these organisms and so have 

 contributed little to the solution of the systematic or morphological 

 problems of these interesting protozoans. 



PRESENT STATUS 



Up to the present time there have been described as existing in 

 the stomach of ruminants some twenty-four species of protozoan 

 ciliates, classified as follows : 



LIST OF SPECIES OF CILIATES DESCRIBED 

 (a) from the stomach of ruminants 



Family A. Ophryoscolecidae Stein, 1858. 

 Genus I. Ophryoscolex Stein, 1858. 



Species 1. Ophryoscolex inermis Stein, 1858. 



2. Ophryoscolex purkynjei Stein, 1858. 



3. Ophryoscolex caudatus Eberlein, 1895. 



Genus II. Diplodinium Schuberg, 1888. 



Species 4. Diplodinium vortex Fiorentini, 1889. 



5. Diplodinium maggii Fiorentini, 1889. 

 / 6. Diplodinium bursa Fiorentini, 1889. 



