British Oribatidse. Bij A. D. Michael. 187 



girdle of palmate scales which form the conspicuous feature of the 

 nymph. 



I may mention that I brought home what I supposed to be 

 several very young specimens found in the ordinary yellow lichens 

 from rocks near the coast ; on bringing them to London the use of 

 higher powers disclosed that they are a different species, the shape 

 being slightly longer and the nervures of the scales not being 

 reticulated but irregularly furcate. I have them still, but they 

 have not attained the adult form and I doubt their surviving the 

 winter. 



52. Leiosoma subtekkaneus. Koch. 



Oribata suhterraneus. Koch, fasc. 38, pL 11. 



Average length ? about 1 - 50 mm. 

 „ breadth „ "72 „ 



I have two or three specimens of what seems to be Koch's 

 Oribata suhterraneus (he does not make a separate genus of 

 Leiosoma) ; it is clearly a Leiosoma, and equally clearly not any of 

 Nicolet's species. It may be known by the following distinguishing 

 marks : the cephalothorax is small, the wings of the tectum bifid 

 at the anterior end, the interior point being longest, and a strong, 

 rough hair springing between them, the two wings joined by a 

 broad chitinous ridge ; stigmatic hairs fusiform, ending in a fine hair 

 as in viicroeephala, abdomen broad, rounded anteriorly and pos- 

 teriorly, and arched. 



Creature dark and polished. 



Found in moss at Epping Forest. 



53. Cepheus bifid atus. Nic. 

 Nic. 446. 

 Mr. George sent me a single specimen of a species which appears 

 to belong to the genus Cepheus in all important points of structure, 

 but has strongly hcterodactyle claws, whereas Nicolet says homo- 

 dactyle claws are a leading character of this genus. I confess I have 

 not ever seen what seems to me a truly homodactyle claw on any 

 of the family, but the difierence between the claws is very great in 

 this creature ; if it be a Cepheus it seems to resemble hijUdatus, 

 although there are some dificrences, viz. the hairs on the abdomen 

 are thicker than in Nicolet's drawmg, and curved instead of straight, 

 the cut in the front of the tectum is wider and not so deep as 

 Nicolet's, and the raised margin of the abdomen does not run so 

 far l)ack. I myself should be inclined to think it the s<ime species 

 but varying somewhat from the French type. Mr. George, how- 

 CYcr, doubts its being so. 



