GLOBIDItTM. 367 



II. Order GLOBIDIA Babudieri, 1932. 



Spores fusiform containing large siderophil granules in the 

 centre. Cysts occur exclusively in the intestinal submucosa, 

 inside a hypertrophied host-cell, with a peripheral nucleus. 

 No toxin secreted. 



Family GLOBIDID^ Babudieri, 1932. 



With the characters of the order. 



Genus GLOBIDIUM Flesch, 1884. 



GloUdium, Flesch, 1884, p. 459; Labbe, 1899, p. 72; Minchin, 



1903, p. 350. 

 Gastrocystis, Chatton, 1910, p. 114. 

 Besnoitia, Franco & Borges, 1916, p. 269. 

 Globidium, Wenyon, 1926, pp. 769-73 ; Knowles, 1928, pp. 337-8 ; 



Reichenow, 1929, pp. 905-7 ; 1935, p. 394. 



Cysts spherical, up to 5 mm. in diameter, embedded in the 

 mucosa of the aUmentary canal or skin of mammals. Each is 

 enclosed by a membranous capsule and, when full grown, con- 

 tains groups of spores which resemble those of Sarcosporidia. 



Remarks. — Flesch (1883) observed the infection in the horse ; 

 Chatton (1910) in sheep and goats ; Gilruth and Bull (1912) 

 in the kangaroo, wallaby, and wombat ; Kupke (1923) in the 

 horse ; Wenyon and Scott (1925) in the wallaby ; and Henry 

 ,and Masson (1932) in the camel. There is great divergence 

 of opinion as regards the systematic position of the genus. 

 Wenyon (1926) considers it as closely related to Sarcosporidia, 

 Reichenow (1929) places it in an appendix after Gregarinida, 

 and Henry and Masson (1932) regard the genus as large Coc- 

 €IDIA, while Hobmaier (1922) beUeved that the parasites 

 included in the genus are fungi, and not Protozoa at all. 

 Babudieri (1932) placed it in a separate order of the subclass 

 Sarcosporidia. Enigk (1934) has described the development 

 of macrogametes, microgametes, and schizonts of Globidium 

 ■cameli and pointed out the similarity to that of Coccidia. 



302. Globidium fusiformis Hassan, 1935. (Fig. 181.) 



■\Globidiuni fusifortnis, Hassan, 1935, pp. 1-7, pis. viii-x ; Ware, 

 1937, p. 35.' 



Spherical protoplasmic bodies, varjdng in size, the smallest 

 with a single nucleus and the largest with as many as forty- 

 eight or more nuclei in a single optical plane. The parasite is 

 at first intracellular in the gastro-intestinal epithehal cells, 

 but later the tissues form a thin capsule round the mass. 

 The colony becomes intracellular and is pushed towards the 

 subepithelial connective tissue. Ultimately the cysts are 



