452 
SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 
Laxus ( L . contortus, from Naples, and L. longus, from Port Jackson) is 
short-necked, slender, and flexible. Chroma\o]g aster ( C . nigricans , from 
Naples, and C. purpurea, from Port Adelaide) is probably closely allied 
to, if not identical with, De Man’s new genus Siplionolaimus. Soleno- 
laimus ( S . obtusus , from Naples), is short-necked, has a narrow pharynx, 
and asymmetrical female sexual organs. Fimbria ( F . tenuis , from 
Ceylon) has hairs abundant on the tail, but not conspicuous else- 
where ; the mouth is surrounded by minute bristles, or bristle-bearing 
papillm. 
Structure of Nematodes.* * * § — Dr. L. A. Jagerskiold has examined 
Ascaris spiculigera which has been found in thirty-one species of Birds, 
A. osculata found in six, A. decipiens in seven, and A. simplex in eight 
species of Cetacea, as well as a few other Ascarids. Of most of these, 
as of Oxyuris flagelloides sp. n., from the cocoon of AtJierura armata, 
and of Ichthyonema pellucidum sp. n. from the body-cavity of Tetrodon 
stellatus , he gives somewhat fully detailed accounts. 
Diesing and v. Drasche, on account of the structure of the excretory 
organ and digestive canal, formed the genus Peritrachelius for Ascaris 
osculata , spiculigera , lobulata, decipiens , and simplex ; the same kind of 
digestive canal is, however, found in many other species of Ascaris, and 
their type of excretory organ is not confined to them. At present we 
know the anatomy of too few Ascarids to justify us in breaking up the 
genus. For the details of anatomy of the described species, reference 
must be made to this somewhat lengthy paper. 
Heterakis Sonsinoi. j — Dr. v. Linstow gives one of his careful de- 
scriptions of a new Nematode from the terminal part of the intestine of 
Chamocles vulgaris where it was found by Dr. Sonsino. The spicula are 
of the same length, and not unequal, as is often the case in this genus. 
The female was 6 mm. long, and 0*37 mm. broad ; the ova appear to be 
deposited in the intestine of the host. 
Nematode of Coffee-Disease. :i: — Dr. E. Goldi describes the Anguil- 
lulid parasite — Meloidogyne exigua g. et sp. n. — which he has discovered 
as the primary cause of the disastrous coffee-disease in Brazil. The 
memoir gives full particulars of the disease, of its effect on the plant, 
and of what is known of the life-history of the parasite. 
y. Platyhelminthes. 
Planocera inquilina.§ — Mr. W. M. Wheeler describes this new 
species of Poly clad which is found commonly at Vineyard Sound, living 
on Sycotypus canaliculatus. The adult is 6 mm. long by 4 mm. broad, 
and is devoid of pigment; in consequence of this the nervous system 
may be traced without difficulty, and seems to closely agree with Lang’s 
descriptions of the same system in P. Graffi. Remarkably clear pictures 
of the beautiful plexus and its connection with the brain may be 
obtained by killing in hot corrosive, staining for twelve hours in 
* Zool. Jahrb. (Anat. Abth.), vii. (1894) pp. 449-532 (5 pis.). 
t Centralbl. f. Bakteriol. u. Parasitenk., xv. (1894) pp. 733-5 (3 figs.). 
X Archiv. Mus. Rio de Janeiro, viii. (1892) pp. 9-121 (5 pis., 1 map). 
§ Journal of Morphology, ix. (1894) pp. 195-201 (2 figs.). 
