BDELLOID ROTIFERA OF SOUTH AFRICA. 179 



•separated teeth. Lumbar region fairly heavy. Contractile 

 vesicle fairly large. Spurs short. Foot short, of five segments. 

 "Corona equal to collar. Upper lip a triangle. Deeply stippled. 

 Size, l/80th inch. 



This is a rather keen-looking, graceful animal when feeding, 

 ^nd generally feeds with the foot extended. It is deeply stippled 

 from and including the dental segment down to the spurs. The 

 front of the dental segment is wider than the part in front of it. 

 The anal segment looks double. The foot is smooth, and short, 

 though it has so many segments. Spurs are not very sharp, but 

 are decurved so that they look usually very short and very blunt, 

 like those of Mniohia ohtusicornis. There is a swelling, longitudin- 

 ally, along the first foot segment, which is short. The corona is 

 i;o the collar as 8 to 8. The sulcus is equal to about one-third 

 of the disc width. The upper lip is flat, rising abruptly near the 

 middle into a triangle whose base is as wide as the sulcus. 



Habitat. — Ground moss, Grahamstown. 



Genus ADINETA Hudson. 

 Adineta cuneata sp. no v. 

 PI. 14, figs. 22-22a. 



Specific Characters. — Of large size, stout, hyaline. No setae 

 <or expansions on the rostrum. Antenna fairly long. Teeth two. 

 Hump has no distinctive shape. Contractile vesicle large and 

 elongated. Foot stout, of five segments. Deep constriction at 

 Ankle when foot is fully extended. Spurs short and at right 

 angles to foot, with a large convex interspace. Toes stubby. 

 There are large foot glands. Size, l/75th inch. 



Murray (7) was well acquainted with this animal and con- 

 csidered it a good species. It has a short hopping sort of motion, 

 reminding one of the hop of a rabbit, when it is feeding and 

 mioving about slowly. 



The only species near this is A. vaga. A. cuneata has a less 

 iclegant shape, and a slightly squarer head. It has a stouter foot 

 .and a segment more in it, and a narrower constriction at the 

 iankle when extended, which gives a distinctive appearance to 

 th.e spur segment. The part posterior to the spurs is shorter and 

 the toBs more stumpy in appearance. 



