1142 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXVIII. 
No. XXVIL— GORDIUS WORMS. 
Among the snakes sent to me by Father Anglade from Shembaganur is a 
Gordius Worm. I have now seen several of these curious nematodes, which 
are remarkable for the tenuity of their caUbre coupled with their length, re- 
minding one of a fiddle-string. One specimen was found in the mules’ drinking 
trough at Drosh, Chitral (circa 4,500 feet) in April 1910, during very cold weather 
when snow was on the ground. I sent this to Professor A. E. Shipley who forwarded 
it to Professor Camerano of Turin, and it was pronounced a Gordius zavattarii, Ca- 
merano. Another was killed in my outhouses in Almora (5,200 feet) on the 2nd 
of January 1911, on a bitterly cold day when sleet was falling. It measured 
495 mm. (1 foot 7^ inches), and was exactly like an animated fiddle-string. 
Another came to my notice in Dibrugarh, Assam, date uncertain, but it 
was in the winter and the weather cold. Another was foimd in the drinking 
water supply inShiUong (circa 4,800 feet) where it created considerable excite- 
ment from its extraordinary activity. This was sent to me as a snake for 
identification. A similar worm was noticed by me i n a puddle by the road side 
left by recent rain, above Newara Ehya, Ceylon (circa 7,000 feet) many years 
ago, and astonished me by its activity. All of these appeared to me to be the 
same species. The specimen from Shembaganur however is very much 
compressed, and the body of greater cahbre than in the previous specimens I 
have seen, and is probably another species. When forwarding the first men- 
tioned specimen to Professor Shipley I asked for information about life habits, 
and obtained the following reply. 
“ The Gordian Worms fertilise each other, and lay their eggs free in 
water. They twist about amongst plants. The egg gives rise to an 
embryo, which bores into some water mollusc or insect, and encysts there 
for a bit. This moUusc or insect is generally eaten by another insect, such 
as a mantis or a beetle, and the larvae grow very largely in this second 
host, absorbing its tissue. After a time the worms emerge free, often a 
large number on the same day, giving rise to the idea that there has been 
a shower of worms.” 
Considerable mystery surrounds these extraordinary worms which appear as 
if by magic. Some natives declare they fall with the rain, and in Chitral they 
firmly believe they are generated during faUing snow. 
It is probable that many of our members are familiar with these nematodes, 
and it would be interesting to collect more specimens to determine the number 
of Indian species, and their distribution. 
Bangaloke, F. wall, 
November 1920. Lieut. -Col., I.M.S. 
NO. XXVm.— A PYTHON’S LONG FAST. 
The following is an extract from a neighbouring planter’s letter : — 
“ Herewith the facts about the python. I shall be interested to hear what the 
Bombay Natural History Society say about it, if you think it worth informing 
them. The python was a young one 9| feet long. It was caught, without being 
injured some time in 1911 or 1912. It was kept in a wire cage for 2J years. 
During that time it ate absolutely nothing. It was tried with frogs, and a 
pigeon was in its cage for 5 or 6 days. The pigeon had to be removed as it 
started bullying the python. It had a dish of water in its cage always, 
but there is no absolute proof that it drank. During the 2^ years it changed 
