Marvels of Pond-Life. 49 



nor was I afterwards able to get any from that pond 

 during the remainder of the year. 



Several other Rotifers, with and without carapaces, 

 were among the same mass of confervse, among them 

 a Metopidia, with a firm shell, a forked jointed tail, and 

 a projection in front which worked like a pickaxe among 

 the decaying weed. There were likewise specimens of 

 the long-necked animalcules (Trachelii), groups of 

 Yorticeila, some specimens of Volvox, and a small 

 Trichodina pediculus, which, when magnified two hun- 

 dred and sixty linear, was about the size of a sixpence 



260 



Trichodina pediculus. 



and equally round. The edge was beautifully fringed 

 with a circle of cilia ; in an inner circle was a row of 

 locomotive organs, and the centre exhibited vacuoles 

 constantly opening and shutting. This creature, as 

 before explained, is often found as a parasite upon the 

 polyps. On one occasion a glimpse was caught of a 

 Rotifer similar in shape to the common wheel animal- 

 cule, but with a yellow inside. Possibly it was the 

 object so beautifully delineated by Mr. Gosse, in his 

 " Tenby," and described as the " Yellow Philodine/' 

 but this must remain in doubt, as it managed to escape 

 before it could be secured. 



