A pellet of sheep faeces containing eggs of Haemonchus contortus forms an adequate environment for the development of those eggs to third stage infective larvae, provided that it is kept moist. Observation shows a concentration of developing larvae on the external mucous coat of the pellet. These data suggest that optimum conditions for development would occur when pellets are separated one from another and standing on a water repellent surface, thus presenting the maximum free surface area and minimum opportunity for aggregation and hence of over crowding. The best method of recovering the infective larvae would be one that obtained larvae free from contamination without requiring them to expend energy in separating themselves from the contamination.

As far as the authors are aware, no standard technique has been described for the enumeration of infective trichostrongylid larvae recovered from faecal cultures. In experiments involving artificial infestations it is usually necessary to divide a concentrated suspension of larvae into a number of doses. In measuring the doses a dilution method may be used in which all the larvae in one or more aliquots taken from the diluted suspension are distributed on to a convenient number of slides and counted under the microscope. Alternatively, aliquots may be placed on the counting slide devised by Scott (1927). Such procedures are, however, time consuming and are fatiguing to the operator, where a large number of enumerations has to be made. They have the further disadvantage that the arbitrary dilution factor employed may result in too great a dispersion or conversely too great a concentration, either of which is undesirable from the point of view of accuracy and ease of counting.

1. The results of a survey of 194 Peruvian and Colombian primates for filarial infections are presented. Nine genera and 14 species of marmosets and monkeys are represented in the survey. A blood film survey revealed microfilariae in 82, of 42% of the animals. Adult worms were recovered from 21 of 61 dissected animals. The 209 adult worms belong to four species: Dipetalonema gracile, Dipetalonema caudispina, Tetrapetalonema marmosetae, and Tetrapetalonema tamarinae, a new species.

2. New host records for Dipetalonema gracile are: Tamarinus nigricollis, Cebus albifrons, and Saimiri boliviensis. Saimiri boliviensis is a new host for Dipetalonema caudispina. New hosts for Tetrapetalonema marmosetae are: Oedipomidas oedipus, Saimiri sciurea, S. boliviensis, and Ateles paniscus.

3. The adult worms and microfilaria of a new species of filarial worm, Teirapetalonema tamarinae, are described from a Peruvian tamarin marmoset, Tamarinus nigricollis.

Brachylaemus arcuatus and Plagiorchis (Multiglandidmns) mmris are recorded for the first time from the fox and sheep respectively.

The large number of species of the genus Opisthorchis Blanchard, 1895 that have been reported from different regions of the world as parasites of dog, cat, man and lower groups of fish-eating vertebrates, have generally been identified on such adult morphological characters as the size or shape of the gonads, the position and shape of the excretory bladder and the character of the vitellaria, whether in acini or in linear distribution. The validity of the allied genera, Amphimerus Barker, 1911; Paropisthorchis Stephens, 1912 and Clonorchis Looss, 1907, proposed for some of these opisthorchids, had been questioned, among others, by Tubangui (1921), Morgan (1927), Baylis (1929), Faust (1930, 1949), Bhalerao (1935), Erhardt (1935), Wallace and Penner (1939), Price (1940), Dawes (1940), Bisseru (1957) and Watson (1960).

During the summer of 1961 an opportunity arose which enabled us to study the incidence of certain helminth parasites in pigs slaughtered at Roath Abattoir, Cardiff. The studies were undertaken primarily because of the apparent lack of incidence figures concerning the helminth parasites in pigs from the southern part of the Principality. Some information was available for other regions of the Principality as Morgan (1924), Jones (1926) and Lewis (1930) have published reports on helminth parasites of pigs from Central and North Wales. Unfortunately none of these papers provided any comparative data on incidence of the various helminths, the numbers of each species in each infection and the proportion of sexes for each helminth in a given population.

Investigators up to the time of Monticelli (1891), with the exception of Weinland (1858), considered the proteocephalan group of fish cestodes to belong to the genus Taenia. It was Weinland (1858) who removed them from this genus, and erected the genus Proteocephalus for them.

Linstow (1891), was the first to point out that the fish species made a closely related group within the genus Taenia on account of certain constantly occurring characters. In the same year, Monticelli pointed out that in these fish “Taenias”, as then known, some showed marked differences from the rest, notably in the cortical position of the testes, and that these justified their separation as the genus Tetracotylus.

Paruterina quelea sp. nov. is described, and brief details given of P. zambicnsis Mettrick, 1960, and P. pentamyzos Mettrick, 1960. Details of all the species at present in the genus Paruterina are listed.

Re-descriptions are given of Metroliasthes lucida Ransom, 1900, and Biuterina rectangula Fuhrmann, 1908.

(1) Trichinella spiralis is widespread in East Africa. It has been found in man, bush pig, leopard, serval cat, spotted hyaena, striped hyaena, jackal, lion and domestic dog. It has never been found in the domestic pig nor in rodents, neither has it been found in carnivores which feed mainly on rodents.

(2) Preliminary attempts to transmit the infection from man, hyaenas, jackal and lion to small laboratory animals such as rats, mice, hamsters and rabbits showed that although the Kenya strain was morphologically typical of T. spiralis, it was of exceptionally low infectivity in these animals.

(3) A strain from the serval cat (Felis serval) was eventually established in the laboratory by passage through the mongoose, Myonax sanguineus, and through monkeys and baboons.

A predaceous fungus, Acrostalagmus sp., was found attacking the larvae of Haemonchus contortus in cultures of sheep faeces. An attempt to propagate the fungus in maize meal and infect cultures of faeces was unsuccessful. Administration to sheep of material from faecal cultures containing the fungus gave inconclusive results. The possible use of fungi of this type, which attack their prey by penetration of the cuticle after spores have become adherent, as a means for biological control of nematode parasites is briefly discussed.

Previous work in parafilariasis and histological study of the causal nematode in skin nodules, collected from bubaline hosts on biopsy from Orissa, is outlined. The present study relates to some observations made from the gravid female with special reference to its anterior end and the histopathology of the skin lesions. The specimens of Parafilaria bovicola Tubangui, 1934, recovered locally from ox, have been compared and the available specific characters of P. sahaii, reported from buffalo, scrutinised. This form is not considered a valid species and accordingly dropped as a synonym of P. bovicola.

Dr. C. H. Fernando, University of Singapore, sent me 3 trematodes, preserved in formalin, from the intestine of the carnivorous turtle Trionyx sp., which was bought in the market in Singapore having probably been caught in Johore, South Malaya. Two of the trematodes belong to a new species of Orientodiscus (Paramphistomata).

The worms were stained with Grenadier's Carminalum and all drawings were made with Leitz' drawing prism. Serial cross-sections were later made from one specimen, and excretory and lymphatic systems were reconstructed from these. In order to get living specimens, 4 specimens of Trionyx phayrii and 3 specimens of Dogania subplana were bought in the market in Kuala Lumpur. One Trionyx harboured 2 and another 27 specimens of large amphistomatous trematodes, which were found to belong to another new species of the same genus. They were first studied alive, then pressed, fixed in Bouin's fixing fluid and stained with Grenadier's Carminalum. Serial cross-sections were made of 3 specimens.

Using the larvicidal anthelmintic “Neguvon”, infections of calves with H. placei were terminated at the time of the moult from the fourth to the fifth stage. A comparison was then made between the level of immunity developed by calves which had experienced, third and fourth stages, third, fourth and fifth stages, and parasite free calves. The results suggested that the principal stage necessary to produce a substantial immunity was the fifth. Evidence was also produced to associate a local reaction in the abomasum characterised by oedema and aggregations of eosinophils in the mucosa with immunity to challenge.

The technique of the conglutinating complement absorption test, which has been used to detect antibody in pigs infected with Ascaris, and the method employed for rendering pig serum suitable for use in this test, have been described.

Antibodies against Ascaris can be detected by the use of the following antigens: (1) An alcoholic extract of ovaries, oviducts and uteri of the female adult Ascaris. (2) Boiled and unboiled saline extracts of whole worm. (3) Polysaccharide fraction of whole worm.

On an examination of antisera from pigs infected with Oesophagostomum dentatiim, no cross-reaction between Oesophagostomum and A. sttum was observed using a saline extract of whole Ascaris worm as antigen.

1. Capillaria obsignata Madsen, 1945 is described from the small intestine of the Black Swan (Cygnus atratus) for the first time.

2. The description of C. obsignata from the Black Swan is compared with the descriptions of C. anseris Madsen, 1945, C. droummondi Travassos, 1915 and C. obsignata from the domestic fowl, and it is concluded that C. anseris and C. droummondi are synonyms of C. obsignata.

3. Capillaria anatis and Trichostrongylus tennis are recorded from the Black Swan as new host records.