414 
Classification of the Ascaridae 
7 : 4 1 . Vagina simple, muscular, 0*15 mm. in diameter, sometimes running 
forward at first irom the vulva, then doubling back with a sinuous course, and 
passing, a little behind the level of the vulva, into an oval swelling (measuring 
about 0*4 x 0-27 mm.). This is followed by a straight, unpaired portion of 
the uterus, about 4 mm. long, and with a maximum width of 0-4 mm. The 
uterus divides into two wide branches, which run posteriorly, parallel to each 
other, forming a few bends at first, and then becoming quite straight. 
Posteriorly these suddenly pass into two short, narrow, muscular ducts, 
which, after a course of about 0-7 mm., expand into fusiform swellings and 
then join the oviducts. The ovaries turn forward soon after their origin, the 
anterior limit of their coils being at about the level of the bifurcation of the 
uterus, from which point they return to the posterior end, and terminate at 
about 1*5 mm. in front of the anus. Ova nearly spherical, measuring 0*065— 
0*073 mm. in diameter. 
Hosts. Python moIutus, P. reticulalus, P. sebae, P. spilotes’, also Varanus 
sp. (Zanzibar—in British Museum collection). 
Geographical Range: Africa, India, Malay Peninsula and Archipelago, 
Australasia. 
2. Ophidascaris radiosa (Schneider, 1866). 
Ascaris radiosa Schneider (1866), p. 42; Text-fig.; PI. I, fig. 9. 
„ „ Stossich (1896), p. 36. 
Length, male, 160 mm.; female, up to 270 mm. Maximum thickness 1*5 
mm. The British Museum collection contains a single female specimen, 107 mm. 
long and 0*85 mm. thick, which is probably referable to this species. As 
Schneider did not describe the female beyond giving its size, this specimen will 
help to complete the description. It very closely resembles O.jilaria. The lrps, 
however (Fig. 2), showan important difference in outline. The dorsal lip is nearly 
square, with the anterior border more strongly emarginate than is the case in 
0. filaria, and the free angles much more acute. The ventral angles of the 
ventro-lateral lips project in a striking manner. The cephalic papillae are 
similar to those of 0. filaria. The dentigerous ridges have not been seen 
(according to Schneider, they are present at some distance from the edge of 
the lip). The lobes of the pulp are multiradiate. Interlabia short. Well- 
marked grooves at bases of lips. Oesophagus about 4 mm. long. Tail 0*2 mm. 
long, ending in a short spike. Vulva situated within the posterior third of the 
body, dividing the total length in the proportion of 15 : 6*5. The vagina runs 
straight back, and the uterus has two wide branches. The whole of the female 
organs lie in the region between vulva and anus. Ova spherical, measuring 
0*08 mm. in diameter. 
The male, according to Schneider, has a slight caudal “bursa,” two pairs 
of almost lateral postanal papillae near the tip of the tail, and a single row of 
1 Railliet and Henry (1910) give from the posterior end, probably a lapsus for A , 
v. Linstow, for A. infundibulicola, states, probably by a clerical error, that the vulva is in front of 
the middle, dividing the body in the proportion of 4 : 7. 
