Kenneth A. Neiland

Alaskan species of acanthocephalan genus Corynosoma Luehe, 1904.

Recently the author has had the opportunity to collect many specimens of various species of Corynosoma from marine birds and mammals in Alaskan waters extending from Southeastern Alaska to Bristol Bay. Specimens from two host species, Enhydra lutris (sea otter) and Delphinapterus leucas (Beluga or white whale), are of special interest. Van Cleave (1953) recognized the presence of an undescribed species of Corynosoma in a sea otter taken on Simeonof Island off the southern coast of the Alaskan Peninsula. He

Helminths of northwestern mammals. Part V. Observations on cestodes of shrews with the descriptions of new species of Liga Weinland, 1857, and Hymenolepis Weinland, 1858.

The cestodes recorded in this study represent a partial review of a large number of individuals recovered from thirteen specimens of three species of shrews, Palmer Marsh Shrew, Sorex bendirii palmeri Merriam (7 specimens); Cascade Dusky Shrew, S. obscurus permiliensis Jackson (2 specimens); and Vagrant Shrew, S. v. vagrans Baird (4 specimens). Neither of the former two shrews have been previously reported in the literature as harboring animal parasites, while only recently Locker and Rausch (1952) published a report on the helminths of the Vagrant Shrew. One of the specimens of S. bendirii palmeeri harbored along with its probable other intestinal fauna the following kinds of helminths: 7 species of cestodes, 5 species of trematodes, 2 species of nematodes, and an acanthocephalan. A conservative estimate of the total number of these fifteen species of helminths would probably exceed 1000. Even so the host weighed about 14 per cent more than the heaviest North American long-tailed shrew recorded by Jackson (1928) and from 43 to 76 per cent more than any of the other specimens of this species collected during the study. Gross examination of its viscera failed to reveal any evident pathology and it seems apparent that the host was able to maintain adequate nutrition even though burdened by its helminth dependents. Whole mounts were prepared from specimens stained in either Semichons aceto-carmin or Kornhausers hematin and where necessary, serial sections were prepared and stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Unless otherwise noted, all measurements are given in millimeters. Drawings were prepared with the aid of a camera lucida.

A new genus of trematode (Lecithodendriidae: Pleurogenetinae) from the varied thrush.

great deal of similarity. However, it is possible that the parasites of birds which are peculiar to the western states may to a certain extent exhibit the same species peculiarity as that shown by their hosts. For this reason, a survey of the helminths of birds restricted to this region may prove to be of unusual interest. The varied thrush, Ixoreus naevius (Gmelin), which is restricted to the western states (as far east as Montana) from Alaska to northern California, is a common bird of this region. However, it is a shy bird which inhabits primarily wooded or brushy areas where it is only occasionally seen by the average passerby. This may partly explain why it apparently has been previously reported only once (Van Cleave and Williams, 1951) as the host for a parasite. The material upon which this work is based is represented by ten mature flukes recovered from the intestinal contents of a varied thrush collected near Stevenson, Washington. Upon examination of prepared slides of these worms, it was found that although they could be assigned to the family LECITHODENDRIIDAE Ohdner, 1911, they did not belong to any previously described genus of this group. The flukes were fixed with formalin-alcohol-acetic acid solution and whole mounts, on which all observations were made, were prepared from specimens stained in Semichons aceto-carmine. Measurements were made on all of the specimens collected and are given in millimeters with the average value included in parentheses. All drawings were made with the aid of a camera lucida. The new genus is named Macyella in honor of Dr. Ralph W. Macy who has contributed much to our knowledge of the LECITHODENDRIIDAE.

A new species of Proteocephalus Weinland, 1858, (Cestoda), with notes on its life history.

From the spring of 1948 to the present time, the author has had the opportunity to examine for parasites more than 100 cut-throat trout, Salmo clarkii Richardson, taken from three small private lakes located near Stevenson, Washington. A total of five species of helminths have been collected from the trout thus far examined. Approximately 90 per cent of the fish were infected with Proteocephalus (P.) primaverus n.sp., and a parasitic copepod, probably of the genus Salmincola Wilson. Parasites encountered only rarely were the following: a trematode, Crepidostomum sp. (?), about twenty specimens from five fish; a cestode, Cyathocephalus sp. (?), one specimen; and an acanthocephalan, Neoechinorhynchus rutili (Mueller, 1780), eleven specimens from three fish. Since the proteocephalid is evidently an unreported species, its description is presented in the following section. The results of preliminary observations on the life history of this parasite are also included. All the helminths were fixed while still alive in either corrosive acetic or formalinalcohol-acetic solutions. If the worms were overly active, they were first allowed to relax in cold tap-water. The greater part of the anatomy of the new species was determined from studies of whole mounts stained in Kornhausers hematin, while the arrangement of the interovarial organs was reconstructed from serial crosssections stained with Galighers hematoxylin and eosin. All measurements are given in millimeters, unless otherwise stated, with average values included in parentheses. The drawings were prepared with the aid of a camera lucida. I take this opportunity to thank Dr. Ralph W. Macy for the many helpful suggestions he offered during the course of this study. I would also like to express my appreciation to Mr. Ernest Olson, for supplying the fish from which the parasites were collected, and to Mrs. Mildred S. Wilson, at the Arctic Health Research Center, Anchorage, Alaska, for identifying the copepod intermediate host of the new species. Proteocephalus (P.) primaverus n.sp. (Figs. 1-6) The strobila reaches a maximum length of about 93 and a breadth of 1.0. The scolex is unarmed and may or may not be expanded to form a definite head; it measures 0.68 long by 0.27 broad. The suckers are spherical and directed slightly forward; they measure 0.090-0.135 in diameter. A fifth sucker, apical organ, or rostellum are not present. The neck is not well differentiated from the rest of the strobila, except that it is not segmented; it is 0.15-0.23 broad by about 5 long. The surface of the strobila is non-spinous. There may be as many as 200 proglottids in a gravid specimen. The immature proglottids are approximately twice as broad as long and measure 0.080-0.28 long by 0.26-0.54 broad; the mature proglottids are quadrate and measure 0.43-0.84 long by 0.50-1.0 broad; the ripe proglottids may be square to twice as long as broad and are 0.70-1.75 long by 0.88-0.99 broad; the terminal segment is rounded posteriorly. The genital organs are similar to those of the other members of the genus and subgenus. The genital pores are marginal, from three-eights to five-elevenths of the segments length from

Helminths of northwestern mammals Part I. Two new species of Hymenolepis.

Apparently six species of Hymenolepis have been described previously from northwestern mammals: one (Rider and Macy, 1947) from the muskrat; another (Macy, 1947) from the northwest coast bat; and four species (Locker and Rausch, 1952) from various shrews. Two additional species are described in the present paper, one from the mole, Scapanus townsendi Bachmann, and the other from the muskrat, Ondatra zibethica occipitalis (Elliot). All cestodes collected were fixed in formalin-alcohol-acetic acid solution. If

Leucochloridium perisorisae, a new species of trematode (Leucochloridinae) from the Oregon jay, with a discussion of the application of host-parasite relationships to the taxonomy of this group.

Twenty-seven fully mature specimens of what appears to be a new species of fluke have been recovered from the intestinal contents of an Oregon jay, Perisoreus o. obscurus Ridgway, collected near Oakville, Washington during March 1951. The worms were flattened under slight cover-slip pressure, fixed with formalinacetic-alcohol mixture, and whole mounts were prepared from specimens stained with Semichons aceto-carmin. Measurements were made on all of the specimens collected and are given in millimeters with average values included in parentheses. The drawing was prepared with the aid of a camera lucida.

Two new species of Prosthodendrium Dollfus, 1931 (Tre-matoda: Lecithodendriidae) from the little brown bat in southeastern Alaska.

Prosthodendrium duboisi sp. n. and P. alaskensis sp. n. are described from the little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) in southeastern Alaska. Helminths of bats apparently have not been previously reported from Alaska. Recently four specimens of the little brown bat, Myotis lucifugus, from the Juneau area were brought into the laboratory. These were found to harbor three species of flukes. A species of Plagiorchis (?) was present in two of the bats in numbers of 13 and 3 specimens respectively. About 100 specimens of Prosthodendrium duboisi sp. n., six of P. alaskensis sp. n., and three of Plagiorchis sp. (?) were recovered from another bat, while the remaining animal was free of helminths. The species of Plagiorchis will be dealt with in a later, more extensive study of the genus. The larger and more abundant of the species of Prosthodendrium encountered is named in honor of Dr. George Dubois whose detailed studies of the genus have provided a sound basis for the taxonomic studies of other