124: W. WESCHE ON A NEW MALE ROTIFER. 



The carapace cannot be said to be well defined. Although I 

 was able in one case to see both an anterior and posterior edge, 

 in another this could not be made out, and in no case had it 

 the smoothness and symmetry that characterises the lorica of 

 the female. It is rather dense, and. has various oil globules and 

 other matter obscuring its transparency ; somewhat oblong in 

 shape in one specimen, in another it was more rounded. 



The foot was not unlike that of the female, and a careful 

 examination shows homologies of structure, as there appear 

 suggestions of segmentation on both joints ; this was much more 

 marked in one individual than in the others. The toes conform 

 to the character of Metopidia, though they are pliable and 

 sometimes take a well-defined curve which shows on the lateral 

 view. The head is also quite characteristic of the genus. The 

 " Cowl " or " Pick " on the front was well developed, two eyes 

 were visible, and the cilia were long, and arranged on the same 

 plan as in the female. The dorsal antenna was very well 

 defined, and with the lateral antennae occupied approximately 

 the same places as in the female, but the lateral were difficult 

 to make out. Owing to the presence of oil globules, and the 

 denseness of the lorica, the lateral canals of the vascular system 

 were not visible. 



In one specimen a transparent sack was seen in the doisal 

 region, which Mr. Rousselet pointed out to me was probably the 

 remains of a digestive system. The penis is placed in the same 

 position as in Hydatina and Brachionus — namely, at the end of 

 the penultimate joint. This comparison will, however, only hold 

 good as far as general appearance goes, as the foot w^ill be seen in 

 the third figure to be divided, like that of the female, into four 

 segments. At the end of the second from the base is the ciliated 

 orifice of the penis, while the fourth carries the toes ; the joint 

 in the middle of the foot is not so flexible in the female. The 

 spermatozoa seemed contained in a small circular sac, which 

 was apparently in the centre of a larger organ extending well 

 into the middle of the body. 



Before the male made its appearance several eggs were noticed, 

 having the outer membrane quite smooth ; but later the winter or 

 resting egg was found, with the surface studded with short spines. 



Jow~ii. Qvekett Microscopical Club, Ser. 2., Vol. VIII., ^'o. 49, November K»01 



