ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 
39 
liave been paid to tbe nervous system. Throughout the group the 
generative apparatus appears to be similarly formed. All species have 
two testes, the number of lobes of which increases with age. 
Aspidogaster conchicola.* — Dr. J. Stafford gives a lengthy memoir 
on the anatomical structure of this worm which, as he rightly remarks, 
has already been the subject of frequent observation. Its organs, how- 
ever, have not been subjected to the methods of modern research. The 
author does not provide any summary of his conclusions, and it is im- 
possible for us to do more than indicate the details on which he reports. 
The parenchyma is the name applied to a mass of cells placed directly 
under the subcuticular system of muscles hitherto not observed in this 
genus, though frequently described under various designations in others. 
It seems to have had, indeed, more than a dozen names already. It 
appears to be the site of active reproducing cells from which modification 
takes place in two directions. The elements towards the cuticle remain 
mostly small and indefinite, while those towards the centre of the animal 
increase rapidly in size, and are transformed into glands, &c. The 
anterior end is called a mouth-sucker, although it is recognised that it is 
a much less specialised organ than the mouth-sucker of nearly all 
Trematodes. It is likely that its form in the adult has more relation to 
the needs of nourishment than to those of locomotion. The author 
describes the difficulty that he had in recognising the presence of slime- 
glands. The parasites themselves are to some extent bathed in their 
own secretion, and must carry some of it into their intestines. As may 
be supposed, the author’s account of the excretory system extends over 
a number of pages. He is not yet able to give an approximately com- 
plete description of the nervous system. 
Hew Species of Bilharzia.j — Sigg. C. Parona and V. Ariola report 
the discovery of a new species of this parasite in the blood of the black- 
headed gull ( [Lams melanocephalus'). They call it B. Icowalevslcii. The 
male reaches the length of 14 mm. ; the surface of the body is smooth, 
and there are no spines or tubercles. The gynaecophoral canal begins 
just behind the ventral sucker, and extends as far as the caudal end. 
The intestine is forked in front of this sucker, and does not unite again 
into an unpaired canal as in B. hsematobia, but the arms of the intestine 
run separately to the hinder end, although they cross one another re- 
peatedly. 
Distoma Opisthobrias.j; — Herr A. Lutz describes a new species of 
fluke from a Brazilian Opossum. It belongs to the gronp in which the 
genital pore lies in the hinder end of the body, but is not terminal. Its 
close ally is a fluke found in the common European Hedgehog. It is 
probable that the intermediate host is some land snail. 
Distomum felinum.§ — Prof. P. Sonsino twice found Distomum felinum 
in dogs, and once in a cat, who had bitten a girl without obvious cause, 
* Zool. JB. (Abth. Anat.), ix. (1896) pp. 477-542 (6 pis.). 
f Boll. Mus. Zool. Genova, 1896, No. xlv. See Centralbl. f. Bakteriol. u. Parasi- 
tenk., l te Abt., xx. (1896) p. 620. 
t Revista Mus. Paulista, i. (1895) pp. 180-88 (1 pi.). See Centralbl. f. Bak- 
teriol. u. Parasitenk., l te Abt., xx. (1896) p. 623. 
§ Gaz. d. Ospedali e d. Cliniche, xvi. (1895). See Centralbl. f. Bakteriol. u. Para- 
sitenk., l te Abt., xx. (1896) p. 709. 
