D. BRYCE ON FIVE NEW SPECIES OF BDELLOID ROTIFERA. 89 



moderately hardy. After a few days, most specimens would 

 feed freely under the unaccustomed light and would remain 

 quiet, but I have never known eggs to be laid under such 

 conditions. 



By no means a common species, yet widely distributed ; I noted 

 it first in moss sent me in 1895 by Forstmeister L. Bilfinger, 

 of Stuttgart. I have since found it in moss from Epping Forest, 

 Essex ; Chagford, Devon ; Pass of Leny, Perthshire ; Black 

 Forest, Baden. 



Dimensions. Greatest length 410 fx, more frequently 320 to 

 350 fx. Corona 38 to 41 /x. Kami about 15 fx. Spurs 6 to 9 /x. 



Habrotrocha spicula sp. nov. (PI. 9, fig. 1). 



Specific Characters. A single, short, blunt spine, sub-erect 

 upon dorsal median line of pre-anal segment. Corona small, 

 13-18 [x wide; pedicels adnate; upper lip high, rounded, un- 

 divided. Rami with four teeth each. Spurs, short cones, widely 

 separated. 



A rather small species, chiefly noteworthy for the solitary 

 spine and its unusual position. No other Bdelloid yet known 

 has only a single spine or has spines only upon the pre-anal 

 segment as in this case. When the animal is in its most 

 retracted position, as one usually sees it lying inert among moss 

 debris, the spine stands out distinctly at the hinder end of the 

 body, and it is also well shown when the animal is feeding and 

 assumes the squatting position natural to many species. It is 

 easily overlooked when the animal is crawling about unless a 

 good side-view is presented. It springs from a thickened base, 

 and is rather blunt, short and slightly bent. 



When seen from the front the very small corona is nearly 

 circular in outline, the trochal discs being separated by a shallow 

 furrow and the pedicels adnate. In dorsal view the high 

 rounded upper lip rises quite to the level of the trochal discs, 

 and its apex indeed is visible in ventral view. The margins of the 

 mouth have small angular lateral prominences, which are partly 



