742 DR. K. T. LEIPER ON A NEW [NoV. 9, 



transmission of the rat-trypanosome {Trypanosoma leioisi). He 

 stated that he had found no flagellate parasites in any rat-fleas 

 which had not been fed on rats infected with T. levnsi, bnt 

 had found incidentally various other parasites in the fleas in the 

 course of his investigations, namely, a Protozoan parasite which 

 infested the Malpighian tubes, another which was found in the 

 heart and in the body-cavity, and lastly the Cysticei'ci which were 

 exhibited. The Cysticerci were found free in the body-cavity and 

 were of fairly common occurrence. In one flea three Cysticerci 

 were found. They probably represented the larval stage of some 

 species of tapeworm occurring in the rat. The fleas had been bred 

 in special cages into which tame white rats were introduced to feed 

 them. It was therefore certain that the fleas must have acquired 

 them from the rats, probably in the young stages, by the flea-larva; 

 feeding on the faeces of the rat, and so ingesting the eggs of the 

 tapeworm. It was proposed to institute some experiments in 

 order to discover, by feeding young rats bred in captivity with 

 food containing fleas, to what species of tapeworm these Cysticerci 

 gave rise in the rat. 



A neiii Nematode Worm from Trinidad*. 



Dr. Robert T. Leiper, F.Z.S., Helmintliologist to the London 

 School of Tropical Medicine, exhibited specimens of 



Lagochilascabis minor 

 (Leiper, Abstract P. Z. S. 1909, No. 74, pp. 35, 36), 

 a new Nematode cavising abscesses in natives of Trinidad, which 

 had been kindly given to him for investigation a considerable time 

 ago by Dr. George C. Low, to whom they had been forwarded 

 by Dr. Dickson, Medical Ofiicer of Health, Trinidad. 



The parasites occurred in the discharges of subcutaneous 

 abscesses in two hospital patients, and were preserved in weak 

 formalin. In this fluid they were white in colour, and resembled 

 short pieces of thin twine. With the aid of a hand lens three 

 well-developed lips could be seen guarding the mouth. Their 

 presence is a sufficient indication that the specimens belonged to 

 the family Ascaridce, and rendered it probable that they were 

 immature stages of the common Ascaris that had wandered into 

 the connective tissues from the gut. This supposition proved 

 incorrect, for in spite of their small size the worms were found 

 on microscopical examination to be sexually mature. The females 

 contained a large number of eggs. Moreover, the peculiar shape 

 of the individual lips, and the presence of a narrow keel-like 

 ridge of cuticle on either side of the body throughout its length, 

 distinguished this form from the three species of Ascaridse 

 known to occur in man, viz. Ascaris lumhricoides, Belascaris 

 mystax, and Toxascaris marginata. 



* [The complete account of this new species appears here; but the name and a 

 preliminary diagnosis were published in the 'Abstract,' No. 74 (Nov. 9, 1909). — 

 Editor.] 



