External morphology of the nematode Pterygodermatites bovieri (Blanchard, 1886), a very rare parasite of bats in the Palaearctic region, was studied by scanning electron microscopy. Special attention was paid to the cephalic end structure and cutieular armament, which are of great systematic importance in this group of nematodes. The mouth opening of P. bovieri is subterminal and oriented dorsally. Numerous sclerotized denticles, arranged in two rows, are situated in the buccal cavity around the mouth opening. They are better developed in its ventral part. In females there are 12-14 ventral denticles. Cephalic papillae are arranged in two rows: internal (six papillae - two dorsal, two lateral and two ventral) and external (four papillae). Amphids are small, situated close to lateral cephalic papillae of the internal row. Males possess 40-41 cutieular combs in each ventro-lat-eral plate row, and, in addition, a short row of four ventral, unpaired precloacal fans. Females in our material possessed 68 cu-ticular elements represented by combs and spines, in each row. Changes of the cutieular elements shape along the nematode body length are described. Results of SEM observations are compared with previous descriptions of P. bovieri based on the light microscopical observations.
Schellackia ptyodactyli sp. n. is described from the fan-footed gecko Ptyodactylus hasselquistii (Donndorf) found the lower Jordan Valley, Cis-Jordan. Endogenous development was studied in geckoes necropsied 7-11 days after being inoculated with blood containing sporozoites from naturally infected geckoes of the same species. Merogony and gamogony/oogony stages, as well as sporozoites, are described by light and electron microscopy. Merogony stages, microgamonts and sporozoites conformed in fine structure to that of other eimerian coccidia. whereas wall forming bodies of the macrogamonts showed some divergence from the general pattern characteristic of eimerians and Schellackia cf. agamae. Merogony stages occurred simultaneously with gamonts and sporozoites. In the blood, sporozoites entered leucocytes, thrombocytes and erythrocytes. Parasitaemia persisted for up to 2 years in some naturally infected geckoes in captivity.