launce Lrozvther 



ral 



'face. Crawley ( 



has observed the 



ventn 



tating on its long axis, 

 to serve as the ventral when the animal is in the intestinal fluids 

 of its host. Sections of the host intestine show that there is no 

 flattening of the gregarines in it, contrary to the statements of 

 Delage and Herouard (1896). Crawley (1902) has also criti- 

 cised this opinion. 



As a rvile, no epimerite is present, even in very young forms. 

 When it is present it occurs as a small papilla (figs. 17, 19). 



In a rather odd form the protomerite and deutomerite were 

 continuous externally and with only the septum, which in this 

 case was convex anteriorly, to indicate the line of separation. 

 Anterior to the protomerite, the sarcocyte curved forward and 

 enclosed a small mass of entocyte. The epimerite of gregarines 

 in general may be ectoplasmic or have an endoplasmic content 

 beside, but the latter form in this specimen is probably aberrant. 

 There is, of course, no reason to suppose that so-called "sports" 

 may not occur among gregarines as elsewhere. The absence of 

 an epimerite even in very small specimens is probably correlated 

 with the very general early conjugation, as various writers, Liihe 

 (1904) et al. have suggested. 



While the shape of the protomerite is quite constant for larger 

 specimens, there is considerable variation in the younger and 

 smaller ones which are excessively polymorphic. This variation 

 is largely due to variations of external outline so that the protom- 

 erite may be globular, hemispherical, subconical, short or long 

 cylindrical, and at times be surrounded anteriorly by an indented 

 circlet (figs. 14-20). 



Quite commonly specimens show a small indentation ante- 

 riorly, extending about half way through the sarcocyte (figs. 9, 

 11). Leidy (1851) describes a similar feature, and Crawley 

 (1903) refers to Leidy's observations in his description of Stcno- 

 phora juli as follows: "His figure 17 is especially good in show- 

 ing the apparent orifice through the thickened epicyte of the an- 

 terior part of the protomerite." 



In Grcgarina hlattarnm, Marshall (1893) regards a similar 

 structure as probably of use in conjugation. The fact that I find 



154 



