In Barbulanympha, a hypermastigote flagellate from the roach Cryptocercus punctulatus, there are 2 centrioles 15-30 [mu] long in the interphase, each surrounded at the distal end by a spherical centrosome 4-6 [mu] in diam. To form the central spindle, astral rays grow out from the distal end of each centriole, meet, join, grow along one another, and overlap. Other astral rays join the fibres that anchor the chromosomes to the nuclear membrane; others radiate in the cytoplasm. In abnormal conditions there may be 3, 4, 5, or even more centrioles in a cell. When there are 3, 3 spindles are usually produced. When there are 4, there may be 1, 2, 4, or 6 spindles, according to the relative position of the centrioles; if they are not too close together, they are interconnected in every direction; one centriole may be connected to 2 or 3 others. When there are 5 centrioles there are usually 6 spindles, though 8 could be formed; a single centriole may function in the formation of 3 or 4. A complicated achromatic figure formed from 15 centrioles, with many instances of criss-crossing of the figures, is illustrated. A central spindle may not be formed when two centrioles are so widely separated that the astral rays fail to meet, or when only one centriole is present.