Revision of the Family Devescovinidae, Its Genera and Species, with Record of the Indian Species of Devescovina by Prof
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REVISION OF THE FAMILY DEVESCOVINIDAE, ITS GENERA AND SPECIES, WITH RECORD OF THE INDIAN SPECIES OF DEVESCOVINA BY PROF. COL. I. FROILANO DE MELLO (NovA-GoA) Received December 2, 1940 THE enormous material to be found in India where the termites are so abun- dant leads me to make a revision of the protozoan fauna harboured in the intestine of some of these species hoping that such a revision will be of some help to the protozoologists working in this country and that their attention will be called to such a wide and still scarcely explored field of scientific research. For rendering this paper more instructive, it will be illustrated with semi- diagrammatic figures of the different genera and species included in a family and the writer will be grateful to any scientist who may help him in this task, lending him any paper on termites parasites, which he may possess, in order to make this research the most complete possible. Family Devescovinid~e Poche 1913 (1) Diagnosis.--Usually three anterior flagella. One trailing flagellum which is stouter and usually longer than others, free or partially adherent to the body. Cresta near the base of the trailing flagellum, under the form of a small subtriangular or rod-like organel, which may become a large internal plate in some genera. Axostyle well developed. Parabasal body, in most species, coiled from one to many times around the axostyle behind the nucleus. Hosts 9mostly intestine of termites. Genera 9 (A) Devescovina F6a 1905. Three (sometimes two) anterior flagella. One long and thick trailing flagellum with a cresta attached to its base ; axostyle with a parabasal coiled around behind the nucleus. 75 B1 76 I. Froilano de Mello Sp. typ. D. striata F6a par. of Coptotermes grassii (Fig. I). Fro. 1 D. striata (after F6a) (1) F6a z studied the material sent from Iquique (Chile) by Prof. De Vescovl. Her description of D. striata is here resumed : Pyriform, average measurements 40 microns • 20. Ectosarc finely striated in longitudinal sense, the stri~e be~r~g interrupted and not continuous through the whole length of the body. Axostyle beginning at a shght distance from the ant. pole and running till the posterior one, which it may exceed, protruding outside the body. Parabasal starting from the ant. pole, running close to the nucleus and making behind it a double collar surrounding the axostyle. Three ant. flagella. One trailing flagellum, band-hke. (F6a did not describe neither figure the cresta). FIG. 2 a, D. strtata var. hawaiensls ; b, division of nucleus and parabasal. Paradesmose very dis- tinctly seen, c, another specimen showing a large number of coils of the parabasal. Revision of the Family Devescovinid~e, ils GeJzer~ and Species 77 Other Species f2) Janickl3 figures the cresta ofD. striata F6 a, which is beheved by Kirby to be homologous with the basal fibril of the undulant membrane of Trlchomonads and gives a full description of D. striata var. hawaiensis, par. of Calotermes castaneus from Honololu (an identification which is wrong according to Ktrby, the termite being Neotermes connexus). 45-55 microns x 10-25. Discontinuous longit, striation on the ectosarc. Axostyle in whose ant. portion the nucleus seems to be imbedded. Parabasal with 2-3 turns around the axostyle in slender forms, 3-8 in larger ones. Three ant. flagella starting from one blepharoplast. Traihng flagellum long, flattened, with a cuticular sheet at its base, named by the author Schlephgeisselscheide. Mitotic nuclear division with a distinct paradesrnose. FIG. 3 D. pruvoti : cr, cresta; tr, trailing flagellum; pb 1, first spiral portion of parabasal ; P/~2, second coiled portion of parabasal (after Duboscq and Grass6). (3) Duboscq and Grass6 describe their D. pruvoti, par. of a Calotermes from Lifou (Loyalty Islands). Leaving aside their ideas on the so-called Trimitus stage in the evolution of Devescovina Bla 78 I. Froilano de Mello and other flagellates, ideas with which we do not agree, D. pruvoti is characterised by the special form of the parabasal, with its first portion, an eosinophyl thread, finely spiralated and with included syderophyl grains closely attached to the nucleus, and the second porhon with a variable number of coils. The so-called large forms measure 75 microns x 36 and possess two blepharoplasts, one for the ant. flagella and the suspensor lamina, the second for the traihng flagellum, cresta and parabasal (Fig. 3). Fro. 4 D. polyspira (after Lewis) a, b, vesicles and splitting of the parabasal ; c, division with paradesmose (4) D. polyspira Lewis 1933, par. of Kalotermes occidentls, from Lower California and Mexico. Ovoid or pyriform, averaging 21-45 microns. Oval nucleus with an eccentric karyosome and often a cone of darkly staining material projecting from the chromatin material towards the axostyle. Three ant. flagella. Trailing flagellum slender, round and tapering at both ends. All flagella 13 times the body length. Su~a-triangular cresta 189 times the diameter of the nucleus, often projecting in a tapering point encompassed by a syderophyle muff at the point of the emergence from the body. Parabasal with 88to 289'~otropic turns about the nucleus and axostyle, distally often split into as many as 6 to 8 strands, connected to the blepharoplast by a peripheral parabasal thread which extends throughout its entire length. Clear area surrounding the nuclear region ( Fig. 4). Kirby believes that D. polysplra should be removed to the genus Metadevescovina and he names it M. polyspira. Revision of the l"amily Devescovinld~e, its Genera and Species 79 FIG. 5 D. hilli (after Duboscq and GrassY) (5) D. hilli Duboscq and Grass6 1926, par. of Glyptotermes iridipennis from Australia) 35-45 microns long but small forms of less than 20 microns. Ectosarc without striation, but a pseudo- striation may be noticed, due to the fixation of spiroch~etes on the pelhcle. These spiroch~etes are particularly fixed in a great abundance near the rostrum of the large forms between 35-45. On still larger forms (2 40-55) the spiroch~etes disappear and are substituted by fusiformsv ; sydero- phyl grains on the pre-nuclear region. Parabasal with a tight coil near the superior nuclear pole and 289turns on the inferior pole, the last one being looser and ascending again on the middle nuclear zone (Fig. 5). 80 I. Froilano de Mello Fla. 6 a, D stereociliata; bx, D. glabra ; ba, with two papillae ; b~, with one papilla (after Grassi) (6) D. stereociliata Grassi 1917, a par. of Glyptotermesparvulus from Goald Coast. Oval, ectosarc with not very distinct transverse striation and on the posterior pole a tuft of immobile stereoctlia, which Kirby believes Co be bacteria attached? an opinion to which I cannot subscribe, from what I have seen in some Holomastigoides from Leucotermes. Axostyles, parabasal with two turns in the figures but in the description it is written : describing a half circle around the nucleus, extends up to the origin of the axostyle. Trading flagellum thick, membraniform, with a closely attached cresta. One anterior very delicate flagellum described and figured. On the ant. extremity a group of syderophyl granules (Fig. 6 a). FtG. 7 D. nova : b, papilla shown (after Grassi) Revision o~ the Family Devescovinida~, its Genera and Species 81 (7) D. glabra Grassi 1917, par. of Cryptotermes havilandi, from Nigeria. 8 Resembles the former species, but possesses a papilla from which start at least two flagella. Sometimes, it seems that the papdla is double. Membraniform trailing flagellum, subtnangular cresta, which seems never to project from the body. Axostyle. Parabasat wxth 2-3 turns, starting from a point very close to that from whlch emerge the cresta and the trailing flagellum, Dimensions according to Kirby 57 • 22 microns (Fig. 6 b). FIG. 8 FIG. 8 (a) D. lemniseata (aRer Kirby) D. elongata (after Bernstein) schima (8) D. nova Grassi 1917, par. of Neotermes erythraeus from Erythr~ea. s Axostyle starting from the anterior extremity and gently curved around the nucleus, whose posterior pole it surrounds. Papilla with four dehcate anterior flagella. Training flagellum stout but not flattened. Parabasal long, large, extending some &stance into the body and distally separated into severalfilarnents. Crest. Dimensions after KirbyL 58 • 27 (Fig. 7). Kirby recently17 has discarded it from the genus Devescovina and included in the genus Caduceia as C. nova. 82 I. Froilano de Mello FIG. 9 Devescovina of Coptotermes heimi a, D, damanensis ; b, D. cometoides ; e, D. Kirbyi (after de Mello and Brito) (9) D. lemniscata Kirby 1926,9 par. of Cryptotermes hermsi from Fanning Islands, Central Pacific Ocean. Average size 28 • 11 microns. Oval or piryform, frequently with projecting axostyle. Rostrum with three dehcate flagella. Training flagellum band-like, broad. Parabasal narrowed proximally, broad at distal end, with I-2 turns and a parabasal thread running through it. Crest. Discontinuous striation (Fig. 8). Fie. 10 Metadevescovina debilis a, front view ; b, side view ; showing the tuft of short flagella (after Light) (10) D. elongata Bernstein, par. of Hodotermes rnurgabicus from Turkestan (Fig. 8 a). This flagellate which D uboscq and Grass~ considered a species of Polymastix has been related by KirbyTM to the genus Devescovina, after studying a very similar parasite in Anacanthotermes (o) characeus. Revision of the Family Devescovinidm, its Genera and Species 83 Almost cylindric 30-77 • 3-6 microns. Longitudinal or oblique striation. Very slender axos- tyle. Parabasal with one turn. No trailing flagellum but four anterior flagella, three of which starting from one basal granule and the fourth from another. Kirby remarks that m the para- site of Anaeanthotermes there is a cresta, probably not noticed by Bernstein and that one of the flagella is a traihng one.