NOTES ON SPOROZOA IT. 
195 
of L. ocellata in Tunis, which he considered to be distinct 
from curvirostris and called biretorta. Lastly, Franca 
[7] , not content with tliese two, makes three additional species, 
H. [K.] schaudinni, nicollei and m inn ta, to say nothing 
about a variety africana of his first one, all from L. 
ocellata. Thus in two species of Lacert a, namely m u ral i s 
and ocellata., there are according to Fran 9 a no less than ten 
species of Hmmogregarine. Is not this carrying species- 
splitting to an absurd degree ? 
I have not studied the parasites of L. ocellata myself, but 
having regard to the above analysis of the so-called species of 
L. muralis, some of those from this other lizard must be 
viewed with great suspicion. For instance, biretorta is 
almost certainly the same parasite as curvirostris, and 
hence a synonym of the latter ; this is clear to my mind, from 
Fran^a’sfigs. ISand 17 (loc. ci t .), and, indeed, Laveran and 
Pettit, in a note I have not been able tosee,^ have also thrown 
doubt upon the independent nature of biretorta. The same 
conclusion applies to Fran^a’s species nicollei, which the 
author himself admits has considerable resemblance to cur- 
virostris and biretorta; in short from Fran^a’s fig. 18 it is 
obviously only a slightly different phase of K. curvirostris. 
'I'he parasite termed by Fran^-a schaudinni appears rather 
different in character both from lacertaeand curvirostris, 
although Franca’s fig. 2 of tliis form is i-emarkably like my 
fig. 4 of K. lacertae; it may perhaps be left an open 
([uestion whether schaudinni is some other phase in the 
developmental cycle of K. curvirostris or a distinct species. 
It is rather odd, however, that Franca has included as a 
particular form of curvirostris a type (vide his fig. 16) 
which is undoubtedly only a form of his schaudinni! I 
conclude the subject by registering a strong protest against 
this habit of creating a new species on entirely insiitficietifc 
grounds. 
‘ ■ Bull. Soc. Path, exot.,’ ii, 1900, p. 377. 
