270 Memoirs of the Indian Museum. [Vol. VII, 



Genus Toxascaris, Leiper, 1907. 



Toxascaris leonina (v. Linst., 1902). 



This species occurred in the following hosts : — 

 Lion (Felis leo). 

 Tiger (Felis tigris). 

 Leopard (Felis pardus) . 

 Ounce, or Snow leopard (Felis undo). 

 Fishing cat (Felis viverrina). 

 Leopard cat (Felis bengalensis) . 

 Hunting leopard (Cynaelurus jubatus). 

 (?) Indian fox (Vulpes bengalensis). 1 



Toxascaris transfuga (Rud., 1819). 

 (Figs. 4, 5-) 



The collection contains abundant Ascarid material from bears — the Himalayan 

 black bear (Ursus torquatus) and the sloth-bear (M elur sus ur sinus) — and also from the 

 red cat-bear (Aelurus fulgens), all of which we refer to Ascaris transfuga Rud. Aelurus 

 appears to be a new host for this species. Examination of the material shows clearly 

 that A. transfuga has all the essential characters of the genus Toxascaris, as defined 

 by Leiper (1907) and by Railliet and Henry (1911). 



The best description of the species at present existing appears to be that of 

 Dujardin (1845), but he gives no figures. Schneider ((1866), pi. I, fig. 3) gives an 

 accurate figure of the dorsal lip, seen from the inner surface, but we are unable to 

 find a figure of the tail of the male. The characters of this, and of the dorsal lip 

 as seen from the outer surface being of considerable importance, we have prepared 

 figures to illustrate these points, and we propose to amplify the description somewhat. 



The size attained sometimes exceeds the measurements given by Dujardin. We 

 have examined one female specimen (not in the present collection), from the brown 

 bear, which measured as much as 240 mm. in length and about 4*5 mm. in thickness. 

 This, however, appears to be exceptional. The anterior end of the worm (in spirit) 

 is usually, though not invariably, curved towards the dorsal side. The lips are 

 roughly semicircular in outline, and each carries two papillae, those of the dorsal lip 

 (fig. 4) being equal and symmetrically arranged, while those of each ventro -lateral 

 lip are rather unequal and asymmetrical, the papilla towards the ventral side being 

 large, the more lateral papilla smaller and situated slightly further forward. The pulp 

 of each lip sends out five processes, two in a transverse direction, near the ends of 

 which are the papillae, and three anteriorly. Of the anterior processes two form 

 large paired lobes which expand slightly and have a shallow longitudinal groove on 

 their inner surfaces at their distal ends (cf. Schneider's figure). The third is the 



1 The last record may perhaps be due to a clerical error in the collector's label, Vulpes having been written by a 

 lapsus for Felis. 



