PARASITES OF ELEPHANTS. 215 



Super-fauiily SpiituiioiDEA Eaill. k Henrv, 1915 

 (emend. Hall, 1916). 



Family Spirurid^ Oerley, 1885. 



Sub-family Spirurin^e Railliet, 1915, 



Genus Parabroxema Baylis, 1921. 



Spiruridaj : Polymyarian worms, having the mouth bordered 

 by paii-ed lateral lips, external to which there are a dorsal and a 

 ventral shield of cuticle. Each lip has one large median lateral 

 papilla and a pair of small sublateral papillae. Of the dorsal and 

 ventral shields, each carries a pair of larger papillae, situated 

 some distance behind the extremity of the head. The cuticle of 

 the head is thick, and folded in a complicated manner so as to 

 form a circlet of six horseshoe-shaped auricular appendages, of 

 which two are lateral, two subventral, and two subdorsal. 



The body is rather slender, tapering rather more in front than 

 behind. The cuticle is transversely striated. The buccal cavity 

 a short distance from the oral aperture is transvei-sely elongated, 

 then passes into a long cylindrical cuticular tube. The 

 cesophagus consists of a short, narrow anterior portion and a 

 long, somewhat wider posterior portion. The anterior portion 

 is surrounded by the nerve-ring. 



The tail of the male is coiled ventrally into a spiral. The 

 spicules are markedly unequal. A somewhat triangular accessory 

 piece is present. There are six pairs of papillse, four pre-anal 

 and two post-anal. There is also a large median double papilla 

 immediately in front of the cloacal opening. 



The female is considerably larger than the male. The tail is 

 shoi-t and curved towards the dorsal side. The vulva is in the 

 region of the end of the cesophagus. The vagina is long and 

 narrow. It has a curious U-shaped bend in its course, a short 

 distance from the vulva. The two uteri are parallel, running 

 backwards at first, one of them returning towards the anterior 

 end of the body. The female is viviparous. The uterus contains 

 immense numbers of embryos. 



Type-species, Parabronema indicum. 



Parabronema indicum Baylis, 1921. 



The male 'is 7-9 mm. and the female is 13 mm. in length. 

 The vulva is situated a little caudad of the end of the 

 oesophagus. The longer spicule of the male is 0-93 mm. long 

 and the shorter is 0-39 mm. The tail of the male is 0*17 mm. and 

 that of the female is 0-32 mm. in length. 



Habitat. Stomach-wall of the Indian elephant (India), 



