BDELLOID ROTIFERA OF SOUTH AFRICA. 173 



Habitat. — Rock and ground moss, Kamaehs, Springfield and 

 Euphorbia Kloof in Uitenhage district. Fairly common. 



Hahrotrocha torquata Bryce I have never seen, but from the 

 •description take it to be one of the ringed group, and so it falls 

 Tinder the designation Otostephanos torquatus. 



There is a ringed one, very common in bouth Africa, similar to 

 the above but differing in the upper lip. I shall describe it as a 

 variety. 



Otostephanos torquatus (Bryce) var. amoenus. 



PI. 14, figs. 20-20a. 



Specific Characters. — Of moderate to small size ; spindle- 

 shaped ; trunk slightly grey, or bluish, transparent. Rostrum 

 long and fairly stout, has a very long seta on each side at right 

 angles. Antenna equals one-half neck width. Teeth very small, 

 seven, possibly more. Trunk plicate and finely stippled. Fairly 

 lieavy rump, and short foot of four segments. Spurs, short 

 ■cones. Corona is equal to the collar ; sulcus very narrow and 

 shallow. Upper lip has three blunt points on it. A seta on each 

 •disc. Size, l/85th inch. 



This animal generally creeps about a great deal at first, when 

 put in the slide, but eventually settles down to feed very quietly. 

 It is not a very fast creeper, and occasionally seems to have to 

 rasp its foot from the glass with a steady pull. The rostrum has 

 ■several setae under the lamella, and there is one on each side at 

 right angles to the rostrum, fully longer than the width of the 

 Tostrum. Though pliable, they were not distinctly seen to be 

 motile. I think these setae cannot be borne by 0. torquatus, as 

 Eryce was hardly likely to have overlooked them if present. The 

 neck is stretched out when feeding, and generally with the head 

 hent up. 



The dental bulb is small, and the teeth are so small that they 

 ^re seldom distinguishable at all with a l/6th inch objective, 

 when the animal is feeding. The rump is fairly heavy and 

 •distinctive, and the first segment of the foot is also distinctive, 

 the sides being curved. The spurs have no interspace. 



After some experience, it is not very difficult to identify the 

 creeping form. H. placida has a general resemblance, and is 

 often found feeding with it, but one has only to look for the 



