British Oribatidse. Bij A. D. Michael. 43 



Neiv Species, &c. 



Among the species which I have found this year are four, 

 which, as far as I know, are entirely unrecorded ; these will he 

 found described in theii- proper places in the second part of this 

 paper, and figured. I may call attention to the species which I 

 propose (provisionally) to call Orihata quadricornuta, as being 

 very singular, particularly in respect to the tectum ; this and some 

 other curious details are shown at Plate IV. Figs. 1 and 3. 



It is curious to observe the tenacity of life exhibited by these 

 minute beings under some circumstances ; as an instance I may 

 mention that I wished to stain some with osmic acid. I did not 

 take the precaution of previously killing them, as from the deadly 

 effect of this acid on low forms of life I did not doubt their instant 

 death. 



The creatures were placed in a sufiicient quantity of 1 per 

 cent, solution, and, as I knew that they did not take the stain 

 readily, I left them in several hours ; from the acid they were 

 passed into 50 per cent, alcohol, in which they remained some 

 hours; they were then passed into absolute alcohol, where they 

 remained for some hours. On coming to mount them, I found 

 them all alive, and apparently not much the worse. 



Summary. 



The result of my work during 1 879 on this subject may be 

 roughly stated as follows : — 



The life-histories of fifteen species have been traced for the first 

 time ; of these the miniature forms of six had been previously 

 described and treated as separate species ; the remainder I believe 

 not to have been recorded before. Fifteen species which I believe 

 have not been previously recorded as British, have been found, and 

 are described where necessary; of these, four are believed to be 

 quite new, five have been previously found in France, four in 

 Germany, one in both of those countries, and one in Spitzbergen ; 

 this raises the entire number of species found by Mr. George and 

 myself to fifty-nine. The above observations as to habits, &c., 

 have also been made. 



In addition to the above I have at least five or six other species 

 which I believe are unrecorded, but I have not had time to inves- 

 tigate them, and, even if I had, I should scarcely have hked to 

 add to the length of this already extended paper, nor could they 

 have been figured even in the number of plates with which the 

 Society has enabled me to illustrate it.* 



* Part II., with riiitcs V. and VI., will appear in tlio April number of this 

 Journal. 



