118 THE ROTIFERA. 
lumbar spines but none on the foot-paps (fig. 8d), and others with spines on the foot- 
paps but none on the lumbar regions (fig. 8c); and, in all, the size and structure were 
the same. From this I conclude that Ehrenberg’s B. amphiceros is only a variety of 
B. pala. [As is also, I have little doubt, my B. don (‘‘ Ann. and Mag. N. H.” Sept. 
1851.—P.H.G.] The lateral, or lumbar-spines are very variable, and occasionally reach 
an extravagant length, as shown in Pl. XXVIII. fig. 8, where they are nearly as long as 
the body of the lorica. In this specimen the spines were hollow nearly to their ends, and 
were, in fact, true prolongations of the body-cavity. They were, too, as flexible as the 
lorica, so that they could be brought all four together at the tips, or even crossed. 
Length. Lorica, 7; inch. Habitat. Ponds and ditches: common. 
B. porcas, Gosse. 
(Pl. XXVIII. fig. 4.) 
Brachionus dorcas A : 5 Gosse, Ann. Nat. Hist, 2 Ser. vol. viii. 1851, p. 203. 
” ” : . : » Phil. Trans. 1857, pl. xv. figs. 15-19. 
[SP. CH. As B. pala; but the occipital spines longer and more slender; and the 
antlers curved forward ; pectoral edge wndulate, with a central notch. 
This, too, may possibly prove only a variety of pala; but the appearance of the 
antlers struck me as unique ; particularly the elegant sinuous curvature, like that of the 
horns of the Gazelle Antelopes, which suggested the specific name. I had ample 
opportunities of studying it in both sexes, and in all ages, from Forest-school Pond at 
Walthamstow, in 1850; but I have not met with it since. The figures, in which I have 
delineated its anatomy in detail, will render much description needless. I could find no 
contractile vesicle in any specimen, but distinctly traced the lateral canals of each side 
to a common termination at the cloaca. An excellent sight of one of the vibratile tags, 
endwise, showed these organs to be attached by a very minute papilla, and to be flattened 
on two opposite sides (as at fig. 4d). The parent carries her eggs after exclusion.— 
P.H.G.] 
Length. Of lorica, 2, inch; width, J; inch. Habitat. Walthamstow (P.H.G.): 
rare. 
B. urcronaris, Ehrenberg. 
(Pl. XXVII. fig. 6.) 
Brachionus urceolaris . 5 5 Ehrenberg, Die Infus. 1838, p. 512, Taf. Ixiii. fig. 3. 
(SP. CH. Lorica with six straight occipital spines and a deep sinus in the middle ; 
the pectoral edge rising slightly to the middle, whichis slightly excavate : orifice for the 
foot bounded by two papille. 
We have now species whose front is armed with six spines, usually low, but variable 
in height. In the present each spine is the origin of a shelly ridge, which runs for some 
distance down the lorica. Viewed dorsally, its outline is that of an elegant rounded 
cup; but, laterally, the occipital spines, and the gibbous dorsum descending below the 
flatter venter, destroy the resemblance. A round, or sub-square, orifice gives emission to 
the very agile wrinkled foot, as rapidly retracted. The lorica is somewhat scabrous. 
The internal organization is that common to the genus. The lateral canals begin at the 
highest point of the head-funnel, at the bases of the lateral spines. They pass down 
into close contact with the gastric glands, each of which is of great size and of retort- 
shape,! and each canal has at that contact a dilatation into an oblique plexus. Before 
it reaches its end, it is tied to the lorica, and makes an abrupt angle, to join the con- 
tractile vesicle at the very neck of its discharge. 
Females carry, attached to the base of the foot, many small eggs which produce 
males, or few large eggs which produce females. (Phil. Trans. 1856, pl. xv. figs. 3-5 ; 
‘ In one specimen the gastric glands evidently merged into the substance of the lateral canals. 
