106 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 134 
Spirura gastrophila (Miiller, 1894) Seurat, 1913 
Synonymy.—Filaria rytipleurites Deslongchamps, 1824; F. ryti- 
pleurites as used also by Galeb (1878) ; Spirura talpae as used by 
Seurat (1911); and Spiroptera sanguinolenta as used by Grassi 
(1888) and Roger (1906, 1907) (Seurat, 1911, 1916). See discussion 
under Spirocerca sanguinolenta, p. 109. 
Disease.—Parasite in alimentary canal of vertebrate animals. 
Natural intermediate hosts—Blatia orientalis, Europe (?) (Des- 
longchamps, 1824, in Seurat, 1911): The larval worm was found 
encysted in the abdomen of the insect. Italy (Grassi, 1888). Algeria 
(Seurat, 1911, 1916): 4 of 17 cockroaches harbored fourth-stage 
larvae of this parasite; there were 15 cysts in one insect. 
Periplaneta americana, Brazil (Pessoa and Correa, 1929): Four 
cysts were found in one cockroach and one cyst in another. 
Experimental intermediate hosts.—Blaita orientalis, France (Galeb, 
1878) : The cockroaches fed on feces from infected rats ; embryos of 
the nematode hatched in the digestive tract of the insect, pierced the 
intestinal wall, and became encysted in the fat body. Infected cock- 
roaches were fed to white rats; nematodes were recovered in the rat 
after 8 days. 
Cockroaches (“cafards”), Algeria (Roger, 1906, 1907): Cysts 
were obtained from the abdominal cavities after the cockroaches had 
ingested the parasites. Roger did not complete the experiment by 
feeding the infected cockroaches to dogs. 
Definitive hosts—Hedgehog (Erinaceus algirus Duv.), fox, lizard, 
chameleon (Seurat, 1916). Dog, cat, mongoose (Hall, 1929). 
Tetrameres americana Cram, 1927 
Disease.—Parasite in proventriculus of poultry. 
Natural intermediate hosts—Blattella germanica, U.S.A. (Cram, 
1931b; Dr. Eloise B. Cram, p.c.) : Control chickens in experiments 
with this worm became infested with immature, therefore recently 
acquired, nematodes. As B. germanica was the only arthropod in 
evidence, it was presumed to be the vector. Hawaii (Alicata, 1938, 
1947). | 
Experimental intermediate hosts—Blattella germanica, U.S.A. 
(Cram, 1931b): Eggs of the nematode developed in the cockroach 
to third-stage larvae and were recovered in 40 days. Attempts to 
infect Periplaneta australasiae were unsuccessful (Cram, 1937). 
Natural definitive hosts—Chicken, bobwhite quail (Colinus vir- 
gimianus) (Cram, 1931a). 
