124 THE ROTIFERA. 
the two posterior angles produced into a slender straight spine of varying length ; sur- 
face minutely punctated, and hexagonally tesselated. 
The form of this very abundant species exactly resembles, whether viewed from the 
back or side, that of a wicker hand-barrow familiar in some parts of the country. 
When the empty lorica is seen, it is a beautiful microscopic object. The rotating head, 
and whole internal organization agree with those common to the genus. It swims 
rather swiftly, in a peculiar style, continually revolving, both on the long and the trans- 
verse axis, throwing perpetual somersaults. Its irregular plunging and rolling strongly 
remind me of the motion of a ship in a heavy sea. 
My A. brevispina (loc. cit.) (Pl. XXIX. fig. 5) is, I feel assured, only a var. of this 
species, with the spines degenerate, and the puncturing nearly evanescent. Ehrenberg’s 
A. testudo and A. valga will, I think, fall into the same category.—P.H.G.] 
Length (including spines), }}, inch; width, 1, inch. Habitat. Pools and lakes 
(P.H.G.): very common. 
A. COCHLEARIS, Gosse. 
(Pl. XXIX. fig. 7.) 
Anurea cochlearis . ‘ 5 5 Gosse, Ann. Nat. Hist. 2 Ser. vol. viii. 1851, p. 202. 
[SP. CH. Lorica spoon-shaped, ending behind in a straight slender spine ; the back 
ridged and tesselate, as in A. tecta. 
This bears the same relation to A. stipitata, Ehr., as A. tecta bears to A. curvi- 
cornis; differing from stipitata by the roof-like back, and the mesial division of the 
facets, which latter (as shown in Ehrenberg’s figures) are decidedly of the hexagon 
pattern. The outline, too, of stipitata is that of a broad, or even triangular shovel ; 
whereas that of cochlearis is decidedly spoon-shaped, broadly ovate. It is delicately 
punctate or stippled. The protrusile front is very ample; a great chin of two fleshy 
lobes is seen sidewise, besides the lateral and frontal lobes. The eye is manifestly on a 
lens, which sparkles in focusing, like a gem, but pale in hue. An egg of enormous pro- 
portions is carried before the caudal spie, reaching nearly to the chin. The spine 
varies much in length, from a mere tubercle to equal length with the lorica-body. 
The species is not uncommon in clear waters, often associated with Asplanchna, of 
which it forms a common article of food. I have taken an Asp. priodonta with an 
An. cochlearis in its stomach, which, after an howr or two, was ejected, and instantly 
swam about, as lively, and apparently as uninjured as ever !—P.H.G.] 
Length (including spines), y}, to ;4, inch. Habitat. Clear ponds and lakes (P.H.G.) : 
common. 
A. serRuLATA, Ehrenberg. 
(Pl. XXIX. fig. 8.) 
Anurea serrulata . : 5 : Ehrenberg, Die Infus. 1838, p. 508, Taf. Ixii. fig. 13. 
[SP. CH. Lorica oblong-square, much as the shorter-spined forms of A. aculeata ; 
dorsally tesselate with hexagons, except that the hind row of facets are two great poly- 
gons mesially divided ; ridges serrate ; both surfaces punctate. 
The most prominent character of this species is its extreme roughness, the edges of 
all the facet-divisions, and the back of every spine being jagged with minute round 
excavations, which stud every part of the surface. I have counted about seventy 
punctures in one facet. This roughness varies in degree. The antlers are often greatly 
developed in stoutness, length, and curvature: the hind spines are sometimes nearly 
obliterate. The pectoral edge makes two arches (each with an intra-marginal line) with 
a notch between them. The viscera sometimes protrude in a globose form beyond the 
end of the lorica: I think this is when the contractile vesicle is filling. The frontal 
lobes take the form of three short cylinders, each with its fan, of vibratile sete ; each of 
