THE LIFE CYCLE OF TRYPANOSOMA LICHUANENSIS LI IN BLOOD OF RANA BOULENGERI GUNTHER

Trypanosoma lichuanensis Li parasitic in the blood of Rana boulengeri possesses a thick flagellum and a notable undulating membrane. Free flagellum was not observed at the anterior end of the body. Laboratory experiments revealed that the intermediate host of this parasite is a small leech, Batrachobdella paludosa Carena. Amastigotes, epimastigotes and trypomastigotes were produced by schizogony or pseudocyst in leech's crops. The epimastigotes are characteristic of thick pellicle and thick wall of subpellicular microtubules, and of many mitochondria which are oval or elongated ellipsoidal in shape and are indistinct in ridges. Their rough endoplasmic reticula were few with 3-5 or even more round or pigment granules in cytoplasm.