CHAP. XVII. 



UTRICDLARIA MINOR. 



42H 



prominent, and always bear, as far as I have seen, seven or 

 eight long multicellular bristles. There are eleven long bristles 

 on each antenna, the terminal pair being included. Five 

 bladders, containing prey of some kind, were examined. The 

 first included five Cypris, a large copepod and a Diaptomus ; 

 the second, four Cypris; the third, a single rather large crus- 

 tacean ; the fourth, six crustaceans ; and the fifth, ten. My 

 son examined the quadrifid processes in a bladder containing 

 the remains of two crustaceans, and found some of them full of 

 spherical or irregularly shaped masses of matter, which were 

 observed to move and to coalesce. These masses therefore con- 

 sisted of protoplasm. 



UTRICULARIA MINOR. 



This rare species was sent me in a living state from Cheshire, 

 through the kindness of Mr. John Price. The leaves and 

 bladders are much smaller than those of Utricularia neglecta. 

 The leaves bear fewer and shorter bristles, and the bladders are 

 more globular. The antenna, instead of projecting in front 

 of the bladders, are curled under the valve, and are armed with 

 twelve or fourteen extremely long 

 multicellular bristles, generally 

 arranged in pairs. These, with 

 seven or eight long bristles on 

 both sides of the peristome, form 

 a sort of net over the valve, which 

 would tend to prevent all ani- 

 mals, excepting very small ones, 

 entering the bladder. The valve 

 and collar have the same essential 

 structure as in the two previous 

 species ; but the glands are not 

 quite so numerous; the oblong 



ones are rather more elongated, whilst the two-armed ones are 

 rather less elongated. The four bristles which project obliquely 

 from the lower edge of the valve are short. Their shortness, 

 compared with those on the valves of the foregoing species, is 

 intelligible if my view is correct that they serve to prevent 

 too large animals forcing an entrance through the valve, thus 

 injuring it; for the valve is already protected to a certain 

 extent by the incurved antennae, together with the lateral 

 bristles. The bifid processes are like those in the previous 

 species; but the quadrifids differ in the four arms (fig. 25) 



FIG. 'J5. 



(I'tricularia minor.) 

 Quadrifid process ; greatly enlarged. 



