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searchable PDF - Association for Mexican Cave Studies

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AMCS Bulletin 5 Reprintsubpharyngeal ganglion and passed dorsally (to thebrain?) adherent to the circumpharyngeal nervouscommissures. The trunks passed posteriorly (in a juvenile)into a plexus investing the nerve cord in the lastfive segments. Hearts, of ix seemingly lateral, of x-xiiilatero-esophageal.A large vertical mass, presumably of nephridialtubules is present on each side of the body in frontof the gizzard (presumably in iv though there is nocertainty as to location as they always seemed to bein v). Removal of the gut shows that the body wallbehind the c1itellum is covered by specks of whitetissue none of which could be proved to be associatedwith a nephrostome, preseptal or otherwise.Testes, seminal vesicles, male gonoducts and maleterminalia much as in T. reddelli Gates 1971. Prostates,ca. 3-4 mm long, about half as wide and stillthinner, with slightly convex but never flat upper andlower surfaces that have a pebbled appearance as ifcomposed of numerous quite small and closely crowdedlobules. Structure obviously is not of the simplytubular type but further characterization must awaitstudy of microtome sections and of development.Penial setae, with most of the shaft straight, graduallynarrowing to a point ectally and with a short ectalportion gently curved (apparently naturally) over toone side and not softened. Ornamentation, not recognized.Spermathecae, of the juvenile and a slightly olderworm, in viii-ix, but in the other specimens reaching<strong>for</strong>ward into vii-viii (<strong>for</strong>ced into those positions bygrowth of the seminal vesicles?). Duct, much shorterthan the ampulla and rather narrow. Diverticulum,single, sessile, covering anterior and lateral faces ofthe duct, containing several seminal chambers. Thediverticulum perhaps should be regarded as nothingmore than a rather berry-shaped group of distendedintramural seminal chambers bulging out the anteriorwall of the spermathecal duct. Ovaries, fan-shaped,with several egg strings.Reproduction-Spermatozoal iridescence in seminalchambers of the spermathecae and on male funnels,along with the absence of contra-indications,allow an assumption that reproduction is amphimictic.Growth Stages-Seminal grooves of the (supposedly)youngest worm were represented by an almostlinear greyish translucence between equators of xviiiand xx exactly at the B level. Apertures of the a setalfollicles of those segments were still at the A levelbut those of the b follicles of xviii and xx alreadywere slightly displaced mesially. The a apertures inxviii and xx of some presumably older worms stillwere at the A level but had been approximated by theb apertures. In other specimens the a apertures hadmoved laterally to approximate those of the Brank.A single seta was recognized in xviii and then in oneof the older worms. Male pores never were certainlyidentified though once suspected of being at eq/xixand on another worm of being nearer 18/19 thoughequally doubtfully.Parasites-Nematodes were present in coelomiccavities of one worm all the way back to the hindend. They have been sent to a nematologist <strong>for</strong> identification.Cysts (protozoan) present in the coelomof several worms were ellipsoidal to spindle-shapedand about 1 mm long. Several cysts contained twohemispheroidal white bodies each. More rarely threewere crowded into a single cyst.Remarks-Supposed intestinal caeca easily couldhave been dismissed as merely <strong>for</strong>tuitous sacculationswere it not <strong>for</strong> the symmetrical pairing in three differentspecimens. Absence in other dissections suggeststhat caecal development has not yet become invariantin the species. Different segments of intestinalorigin were recorded <strong>for</strong> the first specimens. Then aworm was opened that had coelomic cavities ofxiv-xvii completely filled with a translucent coagulum.Removal, which was easy, disclosed septal insertionson the gut in almost diagrammatic clarity as well asthe equisized coelomic cavities.The blood of any worm, to emphasize the obvious,never fills all blood-vessel spaces. Almost anyvessel, with the possible exception of the dorsal andventral trunks, may, after preservation, be completelyempty and then may be unrecognizable and of coursenot traceable. Even parts of the two major trunksoccasionally may be empty and perhaps also unrecognizable.In fact only rarely do the bifurcations thatconnect the two major trunks anteriorly containenough blood so that they can be traced. Considerablevariation as to presence or absence of blood in anyvessel or part thereof must be expected not only fromone worm to another but evpn from one region toanother of a single specimen. Furthermore, experiencehas shown that certain vessels very often, if notnearly always, may be without blood. Caution accordinglymay be advisable regarding acceptance of statementsas to absence of a particular vessel, especiallyif in a description of a single worm or even if basedon several consecutive dissections.One example. Records of the first dissections ofT. albidus indicated absence of any neural vessels.Then, the nerve cord of the next dissection unexpectedlyrevealed the most completely blood filledset of neural vessels seen in the more than fifty yearsof the author's resear..:h. Those same vessels werecompletely invisible in the next two or three dissectionsbut subsequently blood filled vessels occasional-23

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