290 
SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 
Bursate Nematodes from Indian and African Elephants. — 
Clayton Lane ( Ind . Journ. Med. Res., 1921, 9, 168-72, 6 pis.). 
Descriptions are given of Pteridopharynx africatici g. et sp. n., Quilonia 
africana sp. n., and Grammocephalus clathratus from the African elephant, 
and Grammocephalus varedatus sp. n. and Bathmostomum sangeri from 
the Indian elephant. The new genus Pteridopharynx lies near Murshidia, 
being separated from it by the structure of the oesophageal cuticle, the 
almost complete fusion of the two outer branches of the dorsal ray, the 
delicate spicules, and the close approximation of anus and vulva. A 
new sub-family, (Esophagostominae, is established to include the genera 
Murshidia, Quilonia, Amira , and Pteridopharynx, in which the oral 
capsule is ring-shaped, and the sub-family Strongylinag restricted to 
those others in which the oral capsule is more or less cup-shaped. 
B. L. B. 
Platy helminth es. 
Cerearia of Schistosomum spindalis. — M. B. Soparkar (Ind. 
Journ. Med. Res., 1921, 9, 1-22, 2. pis.). A detailed description is 
given of the morphological characters of the cerearia of Schistosomum 
spindalis (Montgomery), the identity of which was proved by raising the 
adult parasites from the larvae and also by obtaining the larvae from the 
adult. Comparing them with the cerearia of S. japonicum , the author 
finds several points of agreement — viz. the course and arrangement of 
the excretory tubules both in the body and in the tail, the two ciliated 
areas, the bladder, the “ island,” and the two excretory pores at the tip 
of the furci with their bulbous ends. Two points of difference are 
however noted. The character of the ciliated areas in the expanded 
portion of the main trunk in the body is different, and there are four 
pairs of flame-cells in the body of this species, while the Japanese species 
possesses only three. The common characters of the known human and 
animal schistosome cercarise are also compared and summarized. 
B. L. B. 
Furcocercous Cercariae from Bombay. — M. B. Soparkar (In- L . 
Journ. Med. Res., 1921, 9, 23-32, 4 pis.). The importance of the 
furcocercous group of cercariae lies in the fact that the larval forms of 
schistosomes or the bilharzial parasites of man, domestic animals and 
birds belong to this group. In this paper a description is given of a 
number of furcocer.cariae which have been studied in detail. Particular 
attention has been paid to the excretory system, which is considered an 
important feature of these larvae, and separate figures are given showing 
in detail the arrangement of this, system in four different types. The 
author has assigned provisional numbers to each type, and avoided giving 
them specific names for the present. B. L. B. 
British Fresh-water Triclads. — Henry Whitehead (Essex Natura- 
list, 1922, 20, 1-20, 1 ph). British planarians range in length from 
12 mm. to 36 mm. Their structure is briefly described. The slime 
glands probably render the movements of the cilia more effective, and 
the secretion from the ventral surface probably prevents the coagulation 
of mucus from the lateral gland. Threads of mucus may be used by 
