181 



WATER-BEARS, OR TARDIGRADA. 



(SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES.) 

 By James Murray, F.R.S.E., F.Z.S. 



{Comvinnicated by D. J. Sconr/eld, March 2StJi, 1911.) 



Plate 8. 



Some years ago I contributed to tliis Journal (Ser. 2, Yol. X., 

 April, 1907, p. 55), on the suggestion of Mr. Scourfield, a short 

 account of the Tardigrada, intended to help beginners in the 

 study of this interesting but long-neglected group of animals. 



Since that time there has been considerable progress made in 

 the knowledge of the Water-Bears. A great many species have 

 been discovered, but these will not concern us much here. Several 

 new genera have been described, most of which are marine. 



It is proposed now to supplement the earlier paper by giving 

 an account of these new genera, and figuring them. 



Names of \Yater-Bears. 



Some changes are to be noted in the nomenclature of the \Yater- 

 Bears. Since my previous paper they have even lost their long- 

 familiar name of Tardigrada. Prof. Hay (10) has shown that 

 they have no right to it, as it was stolen from a group of vertebrate 

 animals which had the prior claim. The scientific name of the 

 group is now Family Xenomorphidae Perty (26). The old 

 name is used here, in a popular way, partly for the sake of con- 

 sistency. I consider, at the same time, that the group is of 

 higher rank than a family, and I propose now to name it Order 

 Arctiscoida, Family Xenomorphidae. The name Arctiscoida 

 was proposed by Schultze in 1861 (51) as a family name. 



Minor changes of names have occurred the name Lyddla 

 being preoccupied. Prof. Hay has renamed it Microlyda~^w^ 

 some species have been altered as they became better understood, 

 but we need not trouble about them. 



