On a New Type of Fungus: Coelomomyces stegomyiae n.g., n.sp., Parasitic in the Body-Cavity of the Larva of Stegomyia scutellaris Walker (Diptera, Nematocera, Culicidae)

Abstract

Among six parasitised larve of Stegomya scutellaris Walker, collected by Dr W. A. Lamborn in the Federated Malay States, Five Contained a ciliate which I have described(Parasitology, XIII. p.216)under the name of Lambornella stegomyiae n.g., n.sp., while the remaining larva harboured a new parasitic fungus which forms the subject of this communication. The larva had been fixed and was preserved in formaldehyde solution (10 per cent.) and was labelled: “Larva of Stegomyia scutellaris Walker. Infestation with protozoal parasite and a luxuriant growth of Vorticella. Kajang,” by Dr Lamborn. When the larva was examined under a low power the surface of its body was found to be extensively covered with tufts of Vorticella, whilst its interior harboured an enormous number of parasites which in the gills and the posterior segments were packed in solid masses completely filling these parts (Fig. 1). As seen by transparency the parasites are oval in shape, 37·5 to 57 μ long and 20 to 30 μ in diameter, surrounded by a more or less thick yellowish wall. In their external appearance, size, and position in the host, they are so surprisingly similar to Lambornella that it was at first quite natural to take them for the resting stages or cysts of this ciliate.