THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 49 



of Anurea. In this form the majority of the individuals first 

 seen were devoid of posterior spines, but subsequently there 

 appeared individuals with one short spine on one side and a 

 slight indication of a spine on the other, and later still some 

 ve;y long-spined animals were to be seen. There are four species 

 of Anurea mentioned in Hudson and Gosse's work, of much 

 general resemblance, but differing only in the arrangement of 

 the spines, and Mr. Gosse expressed his view that these were 

 but varieties of the same species. Of the Entomostraca which 

 appeared at the same time a Daphiiia, identified as D. carinata, 

 was fully developed in form but not in size. l\\ addition there 

 were some very interesting larval forms of Estheria and Lepi- 

 durus, and the two forms have considerable superficial re- 

 semblance. Professor G. O. Sars, a Swedish naturalist, has 

 worked the development of the Estheria by artificially rearing in 

 Sweden from dried mud collected in New South Wales. I have 

 drawn the outlines of some of the stages from his figures accom- 

 panying his paper (for the use of which I am indebted to our 

 vice-president, Mr. V. S. Hall). I have also given some figures of 

 the form I take to be the larva of Lepidurus, drawn from living 

 and mounted specimens. Most of the stages shown by Sars I 

 was able to see, and I found it most interesting to watch from 

 day to day these developments. 



A little later, 6th June, a small but well-developed Lepidurus 

 was found, showing that this form goes through the larval stages 

 in a fortnight or less. Prof. Spencer, as you are aware, has 

 pointed out how rapidly similar forms to these develop in Central 

 Australia, in places where all has been dry for years. On this 

 day another rotifer, Euchlanis dilatata, presented itself. On the 

 nth of June die three rotifers already mentioned were very 

 numerous, and a further addition turned up in Diglcna catellina. 

 This form is very small, being about -.s^-q of an inch in length. 

 The figure of this rotifer in Hudson and Gosse's work is not good, 

 but an excellent drawing is given in the Cambridge Natural 

 History volume on " Worms, Src." The Crustacea at this time 

 disappeared, no doubt on account of insufliicient food to support 

 their rapid growth, only Daphnia being able to maintain itself 

 later than the 14th June. 



From J 9th June and onward the rotifer B. jxda still remained, 

 but not in numbers. The Anurea almost disappeared, but the 

 Euchlanis increased in numbers. .'\ few specimens ol a fresh 

 genus were now found in Triarthrd loxgiseta, but although they 

 carried ova they did not become numerous. Daphnia gave 

 place to one of the Copepoda, probably the one described by 

 Sars as Boeckella minuta. 



This method of woiking pond life is a very convenient one, 

 and tnables a form to be subjected to repeated examination. 



