MICROBIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF A VACUUM CONTACT-PLATE DEHYDRATION PROCESS

SUMMARY: A process for dehydrating fish under vacuum and in contact with heated plates is described. Although the conditions, in respect of time and temperature, appeared suitable for microbial development, a reduction in the number of bacteria usually occurred. A survey of the data accumulated over twenty months, including a series of experimental production periods, showed that the bacterial population estimated at 22° was reduced in the process as a whole to about 1% of its initial value and that estimated at 37° to about 10%. Species of the genus Micrococcus tended to predominate on the finished product. Contrary to earlier expectations, there should be no serious microbiological hazards if high standards of personal and factory hygiene are maintained.     

Quelques Donnees Ecologiques sur les Cilies Libres de l'Afrique

Several problems concerning the ecology of free-living ciliateProtozoa from the continent of Africa require and are worthyof in-depth study. But work already carried out, primarily bythe author alone, indicates several general conclusions of interest.The infusorian fauna of inter-tropical Africa, surprisinglyenough, is poor and little diversified, apparently due to unfavorableecological (mostly chemical-physical) conditions. Endemic species,however, are quite frequently found: of 130 species studied,23% were new. Finally, although the density of ciliates is oftenlow, in some cases populations of certain species have presenteda biomass which must play a role of definite significance inthe food-chain cycle in the habitats in which they occur.     

Two new British species of Halticoptera (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea,Pteromalidae)

The female of a new species of Halticoptera is described from a single specimen from Britain, and the male and female of a second new species are described from material from Britain and Czechoslovakia. Halticop-terina triannulata is recorded from Britain for the first time.     

New highlights about the enigmatic marine snake Palaeophis maghrebianus (Palaeophiidae; Palaeophiinae) from the Ypresian (Lower Eocene) phosphates of Morocco

Abstract: Palaeophis maghrebianus belongs to the Palaeophiinae (Palaeophiidae). This snake subfamily is relatively poorly known, and it is mainly represented by disarticulated vertebrae and ribs and by a few vertebral segments. Its intracolumnar variability remains also poorly understood. The discovery of new isolated vertebrae and vertebral segments of Palaeophis maghrebianus in the Ypresian (Lower Eocene) Phosphates of Morocco enables us to provide a more detailed diagnosis of this species and to describe its intracolumnar variability. Moreover, the new material reveals that this species could reach gigantic size being, with Palaeophis colossaeus, one of the two longer palaeophiids. The microanatomical and histological analysis of some vertebrae illustrating diverse positions along the vertebral column reveals the presence of osteosclerosis, especially in the anterior and mid‐precloacal regions. The occurrence of this osseous specialization implies a role in buoyancy and body trim control in this taxon, which is considered a shallow marine dweller based on its anatomical features and geological data. Palaeophis maghrebianus also displays a dense vascular network suggesting a growth speed, and thus a metabolic rate, much higher than in the biggest extant snakes.