MYXOSPORIDIA OF THE BEAUFORT REGION. A SYSTEMATIC 



AND BIOLOGIC STUDY. 



By H. S. DAVIS, 



University of Florida. 



Contribution from the United States Fisheries Biological Station, Beaufort, N. C. 



INTRODUCTION. 



For several years the writer has been engaged in a study of the Myxosporidia at the 

 United States Fisheries Biological Station, Beaufort, N. C, and a part of the results 

 of this work is included in the present paper. 



When first undertaking the study of the Myxosporidia the author was impressed 

 with the fact that very little work had been done on the group in this country. With 

 the exception of Gurley's paper (Gurley, 1894), which is largely a compilation, scarcely 

 anything has been published on the Myxosporidia by American biologists. It is 

 therefore not surprising to find that nearly all the Myxosporidia occurring at Beaufort 

 belong to undescribed species and in a number of cases to new genera. Some of these 

 are of great interest, since they differ widely from previously known forms and throw 

 a new light on many problems connected with the group. 



It became evident early in the work that many American species would not conform 

 to any accepted system of classification, and it was hoped that it would be possible to 

 work out a more satisfactory one. As the work progressed, however, it became more 

 and more evident that a satisfactory classification could not be developed with our present 

 limited knowledge of the Myxosporidia, and while some important modifications of the 

 present classification are suggested, they are to be considered merely tentative and will 

 undoubtedly require revision as knowledge of the group increases. They are sug- 

 gested primarily with the object of showing the weak points in the present classification 

 and, it is hoped, may serve as a basis for a more satisfactory one in the future. 



This paper makes no pretense of including all the Myxosporidia of the Beaufort 

 region. Indeed, it is very certain that many species are omitted, because the author 

 has brief and fragmentary notes on a number of species to which no reference is made in 

 the text. It has seemed better to omit these forms entirely until more complete data 

 have been obtained. Then, too, the investigations have been confined to the months of 

 June, July, and August, and there is evidence that some species of Myxosporidia are more 

 or less seasonal in their occurrence, and there may very well be species which do not occur 

 in the adult form during these months. Furthermore, it has not been possible to examine 

 all the species of fish commonly found in the Beaufort region. For the most part the 



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