BDELLOID ROTIFERA OP SOUTH AFRICA. 67 



miglit prove to be a variety of P. childi. It has a differe nt upper 

 lip, though it resembles it in several details, but I was unable to 

 study it sufficiently. 



Habitat. — Grahamstown. Very rare. Mr. Child, formerly 

 of Uitenhage, used frequently to bring me moss from different 

 places, and on one occasion brought the small piece of moss from 

 Grahamstown which contained this animal, and I have named it 

 after him. 



I have never met with P. childi since, though I have had moss 

 very frequently from Grahamstown. 



Philodina nitida, sp. nov. 

 PL 5, figs. 9-9a. 



Specific Characters. — Trunk rectangular ; occasional specimens 

 attain a large size. Lumbar region and foot rather light. Colour 

 yellow, fairly deep in the older specimens. Furrowed longi- 

 tudinally, but has a very smooth skin. Two large lemon-yellow 

 eye-spots. Antenna long, between one-half and two-thirds neck- 

 width. Jaws very large, with three great teeth and a fourth 

 just smaller. Spurs of similar shape to those of P. rugosa, but 

 held at different angles. Corona large ; sulcus rather less than 

 the disc ; upper lip clear cut, distinctive. A seta on small 

 pimple on each wheel. 



Size, first samples, l/70th inch, later examples up to l/50th inch. 

 This is an attractive, neat and dapper animal, modelled and 

 built on clean lines, and has a clear, smooth skin giving a brilliant 

 shining appearance. In the large specimens the colour is a deepish 

 yellow all over, except the foot and lateral plicae, which latter are 

 glassy-looking and fleshless. Frequently the deep shade occurs 

 only in the alimentary track. Ovaries were seen of a pink tinge, 

 and occasionally the wheels showed saffron. 



It has a double lamella, rather small, and not so transparent 

 mica-looking as usual ; attached to the base of the lamella is a 

 fleshy rim, also double, on which are situated a considerable 

 number of setae, hardly, except two, projecting beyond the rostral 

 sheath. These two and other two have bulbous roots, and have 

 a quivering motion. The neck is very heavy and widens con- 

 siderably at the dental bulb. 



Scrubby setae are borne on the long antenna, whose two seg- 



