420 



Some Foreign Rotifers to be included in the British 

 Catalogue. 



By Geo. Western, F.R.M.S. 



(Read May 18th, 1894.) 



Having been informed that there is no paper to occupy our 

 attention to-night, I have hastily put together some heterogeneous 

 extracts from my note-book, which, although I fear from their 

 technicality you will find rather tedious to listen to, will never- 

 theless, I trust, be deemed worthy of record. Firstly, as it has 

 been suggested by Mr. Percy Thompson (*' Science Gossip," 

 Jan., 1893) that it is desirable to put on record the appearance in 

 this country of species of Rotifers not mentioned in our text-book 

 as indigenous to Britain, but which have been described as 

 occurring in foreign waters, I have made a list of sevt^ral such 

 which I have met with during the past year or two. I put for- 

 ward no claim to having discovered them myself, but as no one else 

 seems to consider it worth while to mention them, I trust I shall 

 not be considered presumptuous in bringing them to your notice. 



1. Notholca heptodon, Perty. — This, although figured and des- 

 cribed in Hudson and Gosse's Supplement, is only noticed as 

 having been found at Rochdale. It is, however, a very common 

 species round about London, notably at Staines and the Penponds 

 in Richmond Park. 



2. Ploesoma Hud&oni, Imhoff = Gastroschiza Jiexilis, Jiigers- 

 kiold = Bipalpus vesiculosus, Wierz. and Zacharias = Dictyoderma 

 hypopuSf Lauterborn (see paper by H. Jennings in " Zoo). 

 Anzeiger " of 19th Feb., 1894). — This mnch-descril)ed and many- 

 named Rotifer was sent to me from Dundee by Mr. Hood in May 

 last year. He found it in brackish water. It is the most extraordi- 

 nary Rotifer I have ever seen. Its peculiar position in swimming, 

 the semi-loricated condition, the cellular appearance of the whole 

 body integument, and the presence of two curious finger-like pro- 

 cesses in the corona, with the very large wrinkled foot protruding 

 from the centre of the gastric snrface, arc very dislinciivo features. 



