BDELLOID ROTIFERA OF SOUTH AFRICA. 171 



Otostephanos regalis sp. no v. 



PI. 14, figs. 19-19b. 



Specific Characters. — Large ; of a lemon colour generally. 

 Rostrum stout and long. Antenna fully equal to half neck 

 width. Dental bulb long and narrow, with six teeth. Heavy 

 rump and short stout foot of four segments. Spurs short cones. 

 Trunk deeply plicate, and stippled. Corona about one-fourth 

 wider than the collar ; sulcus narrow and shallow. A seta on 

 each wheel. Upper lip a semicircle set on a ba^se with a ligule 

 on the top. A steady feeder. Size, l/65th inch. 



This is a large, powerful animal. It is a swift creeper, and a 

 bold feeder in the open ; and is very symmetrical, with a dis- 

 tinctive shape both creeping and feeding. It is of the musculosa- 

 type and recovers its bold curves and lines almost instantly, not 

 sagging anywhere, as the leathery skin is thick and elastic. 

 Focusing down to the middle-depth of the trunk, the outline, 

 owing to the depth of skin under view all round the margin, 

 stands out with a dark-greenish shade on account of its density, 

 and shows like the rind in a sliced citron fruit. The circular 

 muscles are very distinct. 



The colour varies, usually lemon all over — deepest in the 

 ovary — but sometimes of a pinkish yellow. The trunk, rump 

 and foot including the spurs are heavily stippled, the first segment 

 of the foot more especially so. 



Corona to collar is as 12 to 9 J. On each wheel is a short seta 

 with a bulbous base on what looks like a raised cone, but is 

 evidently a triangular ridge across the wheel. The setae are 

 inclined towards each other. There is a rosette round the closed 

 mouth. 



The ring in 0. auriculatus, Murray (7),^s stated to have a break 

 or gap laterally. There is an apparent gap in the ring of 0. regalis, 

 but not a real one. The lower part projecting from near the 

 collar (dorsal view) does not belong to the ring, but is the secon- 

 dary wreath or rather the base supporting it ; and if it were 

 continued through the apparent gap, w^ould form a continuous 

 curve with the upper part, and thus accentuate the idea of a 

 break. The lower part (secondary wreath) is not a broken line, 

 but bends back almost on itself, or at most at a sharp angle, and 



JouRN. Q. M. C, Series II.— No. 79. 13 



