465 



ON THE GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE 



ROTIFERA.* 



By Charles F. Rousselet, F.R.M.S., Delegate of the Club. 



(^1 paper read before the Zoological Section nf the British Association 



at Winnipeg, in August, 1909.) 



The results of recent investigations point more and more to the 

 fact that the Rotifera enjoy a cosmopolitan distribution which is 

 not limited to continents, but extends to all places on the surface 

 of the earth where suitable conditions prevail. Wherever search 

 has extended in Europe, America, Africa, India, China, Australia, 

 and even the North and South Polar regions, the same genera 

 and even species have been met with, and it is not possible to 

 speak of any typical or peculiar Rotatorian fauna for any conti- 

 nent, zone or region. 



It is true that some species have so far been found in one 

 locality only, but that must be attributed to the fact that no 

 country has as yet been thoroughly explored. The greatest 

 number of species are known from Europe, and in particular 

 from England, evidently due to the fact that in this country 

 the greatest number of searchers have been at work on this 

 group. 



In the United States the Great Lakes have been explored by 

 Jennings, and the Illinois River by Prof. Ivofoid, and some few 

 other regions by Kellicot, Hempel, and others ; but though about 

 300 species have been recorded, no very peculiar and distinctive 

 American forms have been revealed. 



In Canada, unfortunately, no one has yet been found to take 



* An abstract of this paper will in due course appear in the Report of 

 the British Association for 1909. 



