Polysphondylium multicystogenum sp. nov., a new dictyostelid species from Sierra Leone, West Africa

Polysphondylium multicystogenum, a new heterothallic species of dictyostelids, is described based on three isolates collected from soils in Sierra Leone, West Africa. This species is characterized by sorophores with a combination of clavate base and ovoid to oblong tip cell, smaller spores and abundant microcyst production under the usual culture conditions for sorocarp formation at 20 C. This is the first report of Polysphondylium producing such abundant microcysts.     

IV.–Field-notes on the Birds of Sierra Leone.

T he following notes were mostly made during twelve months' service in Sierra Leone, West Africa, 1921-22, of which nine and a half months were passed at Freetown and two and a half in the hinterland. During this latter period I had, however, not much time for observation, as I was travelling daily. My route was a circular one, from Freetown to Port Lokko by canoe, thence to Mabanta, and eastward from there to about the centre of the Panguma District; northward to Falaba, thence westward and southward through the Kariua District back to Port Lokko. Although all my collecting was done, and most of my notes made during the twelve months above referred to, I had had two previous tours of service in this country, and observations made then have helped to confirm some of my conclusions. Ornithology was the recreation of my spare time, which was of course limited.