300 
Intestinal Protozoa in Termites 
organization of Pyrsonympha is the apparent absence of any basal granules 
for the flagellar cords. From the stainability of the axial filament and its 
mode of connexion with the flagellar cords, I think it not unreasonable to 
conjecture that this organ itself functions as a basal granule or blepharoplast 
for the flagellar cords, and I would regard the component taking iron-haema- 
toxylin deeply as specially exercising this function. 
In my opinion the axostyle of trichomonad flagellates is not homologous 
with the axial filament of Pyrsonympha. The axial filament is not simply a 
skeletal organ like the axostyle, but an organ playing the roles of several 
different structures in the trichomonads, viz. the axostyle and the basal 
granules. 
As the nucleus of Pyrsonympha divides, the axial filament becomes de¬ 
tached from it, and the centrosomes make their appearance on the nuclear 
wall, with half the number of flagellar cords starting from each of them. If 
my interpretation given above—attributing the nature of a basal granule to 
the axial filament—be accepted, it may be deductively conjectured that the 
filament supplies the bodies which play the part of division-centres. In this 
respect, the axial filament may be taken to be homologous with the axial 
core in Trichonympha and the corresponding structures in other forms of the 
Trichonympha series. The nuclear sac in Pyrsonympha seems homologous 
with the nuclear sac in Teratonympha and the corbule in Trichonympha , on 
account of its relations to the axial filament, the body wall, and the nucleus. 
I am inclined, moreover, to suppose that the part of the filament which does 
not stain with haematoxylin consists of the same material as the contents of 
the nuclear sac. 
2. CLASSIFICATION. 
A great many types are represented by the protozoal organisms harboured 
by termites. Not only do they differ from each other, but the great majority 
of them display so many peculiarities that a large number of genera had 
necessarily to be established for them. At present 38 generic names are re¬ 
corded in the literature (excluding spirochaetes and gregarines), and I have 
added two more in this paper. The greater part of this large number of genera, 
namely 36, consists of those established for organisms found in the intestines 
of termites exclusively. Among these 36 names, at least three are to be taken 
as synonyms of others; and in a few of the remainder the descriptions are 
not sufficient to enable us to understand their characteristics distinctly. A 
synopsis of the genera recorded from termites has already been given on 
p. 243. 
The organisms peculiar to the termites may be divided into two distinct 
groups; namely, those provided with numerous or abundant flagella, and those 
with a small number of these structures. Our “Trichonympha series” com¬ 
prises several types of the former group, while the “Pyrsonympha series” 
contains several organisms representing only a single type of the latter. 
