326 The Whip-Worm. 



the worm itself proved a puzzle to Linnseus and other 

 zoologists. In 1782 that worthy German pastor and na- 

 turalist, J. A. E. Goeze, solved a number of difficulties re- 

 specting the structure, economy, and zoological relations of this 

 parasite, and in his admirable Versuch einer Naturgeschichte der 

 Eingeweidewurmer thierische Kbrper, we find him remarking as 

 follows : — " The genus is rare. We have hitherto found this 

 worm only in man, in a horse, in a wild hog, in a mouse, and 

 in a footless lizard. From an examination of these, however, it 

 is evident that they are not one and the same species, for they 

 are not all similarly formed; but some, as that described by 

 Pallas, are furnished with other organs. I make, therefore, 

 two classes, as I have before mentioned, and in order that we 

 should in future more agreeably recognize the Hair-head as 

 Trichocephalos, I shall prove by undeniable facts that the 

 capillary extremity is answerable to the head." From these 

 and other observations of Goeze, it appears tolerably conclu- 

 sive that he was the first to give a correct interpretation as to 

 the true character of the narrow portion of the whip-worm. 

 The various forms to which he alludes are now generally ad- 

 mitted to be distinct species ; the one from the lizard (Bipes 

 Pallasii) having been referred by Rudolphi to a distinct genus, 

 under the title of Sclerotrichum echinatum. 



Some eight or ten different species of Trichocephalus have 

 been described by helminthologists ; the two most common, 

 and by their similarity of external characters likely to be con- 

 founded together, being the wliip-worm of man and that of our 

 domestic ruminants. The former [Trichocephalus clispar) has re- 

 peatedly been made the subject of minute investigation, but the 

 latter (T. affinis) is comparatively less known, and its intimate 

 structure little understood. We shall therefore confine our 

 remarks principally to the species infesting cattle, and com- 

 mence our special account of its peculiarities by offering a com- 

 plete synonymy as follows : — 

 Trichocephalus affinis, Rudolphi ; Gurlt ; Miram ; Lamarck ; 



Mayer ; Dujardin ; Diesing ; Cobbold [Linn. Trans., vol. 



xxiii. tab. 33, p. 352). 

 Trichocephalus Oameli, Rudolphi. 

 Trichocephalus Ovis, Abildgaard. 

 Trichocephalus Giraffce, Clot-Bey ; Diesing (species inqui- 



rendse) . 

 Trichocephalus gracilis, Cobbold (Proceed. Zool. Soc. for 1860, 



p. 103). 



From careful investigation we are satisfied that Clot-Bey's 



T. Giraffce and our own T. gracilis are one and the same species, 



both being referable to the T. affinis of Rudolphi, which has 



now, therefore, been found in various kinds of oxen, sheep, 



