290 Transactions of the Society. 



of styles, as shown in the figure. The eye is cervical, deep red,, 

 small, single, though often showing a line, as if it consisted of two' 

 apposed halves. The mastax is large, of the usual Synchseta type, 

 followed by a long oesophagus, not ciliated internally, which leads 

 into a stomach of the usual structure. The body-cavity, being 

 large in proportion to the organs contained in it, looks rather empty. 

 The integument is thin, and often shows many longitudinal folds 

 dorsally. 



The dorsal antenna protrudes on an eminence in the usual 

 position ; the lateral antennas are in the lumbar region, slightly on 

 the ventral side. 



The egg of this species has a very unusual structure (fig. 4a). 

 It is spherical or slightly oval in shape, and covered all over with 

 very long and very thin spines, by means of which it floats in the 

 water instead of sinking to the bottom. I found these floating eggs 

 in my tank containing this species, and in order to make quite 

 sure that they were the eggs of S. stylata, I isolated a number of 

 animals in perfectly clean water and left them over night, when 

 next day these spiny eggs were again there. The size of the egg- 

 shell is 75 fi (3^3 in.), and the total size to the extremity of the 

 spines 136 /1 (y£g in.). I am not aware of any other Synchreta, or 

 any other rotifer, having eggs of this structure. These spiny eggs- 

 have been seen also by Dr. 0. Zacharias and Dr. R. Lauterborn, 

 who have attributed them to S. pectinata, which is evidently a 

 mistake, as has already been pointed out recently by Herr Max 

 Voigt* 



The only Synchseta with which this well characterised species 

 could be confounded is S. pectinata, from which, however, it is- 

 readily distinguished by the absence of the two fleshy horns and 

 the structure of the head and foot, which are quite unlike those of 

 pectinata. The drawing (fig. 4) has been made by Mr. F. R. Dixon- 

 Xuttall from my preserved specimens, and it shows the characteristic 

 form and structure very well. 



The male has not yet been seen. 



* Max Voigt, Beitrage zur Kenntnis des Planktons pommerscher Seen, 

 Forachungslerichte a. d. Biol. Sta. zu Plon, 1902, p. 25. 



(Continued on page 393.) 



