90 J. B. CLELAND AND T. H. JOHNSTON. 



Halteridium meliornis, sp. iiov., a haemosporidian from 

 the Honey-eater Meliornis novce-hollandice. 



(Diagram II, figs. 1-15.) 



In examining blood films made from a specimen of the 

 honey-eater Meliornis novce-hollandice (Fam. Meliphagidse), 

 shot at Sydney, in March 1909, numerous small parasites 

 were found in the red cells. Probably one-fourth to one- 

 sixth of the erythrocytes harboured these bodies, which 

 were present sometimes singly (figs. 1 to 6), more often 

 two in a cell (figs. 7, 8, 9), not infrequently three (figs. 10, 

 11, 12) or four (fig. 13), and rarely five (fig. 14) to even seven 

 (fig. 15). They appeared in the earliest stages as small 

 irregular faintly stained amoeboid bodies with clearer 

 centres, situated in the protoplasm of the erythrocyte, 

 usually lateral to one or other end of the nucleus (figs. 1, 

 4). When two were present, these might be situated 

 diagonally opposite each other in the above situation (figs. 

 7, 8) : when more than two, at the ends or sides of the red 

 cells in various situations. As the parasite increased in 

 size it tended to grow laterally along the side of the 

 nucleus but without in the least displacing the latter (figs. 

 3, 4, 8). Halteridium-like forms were met with, though 

 not in abundance, in which the two ends of the parasite 

 projected beyond and curled slightly round the nucleus (fig. 

 5). These, however, differed from ordinary adult Halteridia 

 in not having so definite an outline but instead the irregular 

 illdefined, amoeboid-like margin (fig. 11) so common in 

 Plasmodium. Examples were also met with in which the 

 parasite occupied one end of the red cell and part only of 

 the side, ceasing opposite the beginning of the fourth 

 quarter of the nucleus. The pigment in the parasite was 

 always small in amount, consisting in the large halter-like 

 forms of a few melanin granules usually aggregated not far 

 from one end (fig. 2, 6), though in one case they were closer 



