NOTASPIS PEOTINATA. 391 



Legs of moderate length and about even thickness 

 throughout, genuals and tibiae much shorter than the 

 femora and tarsi. Each of the three central joints of 

 each leg has two or more short, sharply curved, imbri- 

 cated or serrated hairs. There are tactile hairs on the 

 front tibise and the usual fine hairs on the tarsi. The 

 creature shakes the first leg tremblingly at each step ; 

 this is evidently a kind of tactile motion. 



Abdomen. — Almost oblong, but slightly narrowed 

 posteriorly ; the antero-lateral angles project a little, 

 and there are four largish papillae on each side of the 

 abdomen, and four smaller much closer together on 

 the posterior margin. Each papilla bears a long imbri- 

 cated or slightly serrated hair, which is curved along 

 its whole course, but the curve becomes much sharper 

 towards its distal end and is there directed downward. 

 The hairs from the two anterior papillae on each side 

 are the longest ; the first of these is directed slightly 

 forward, the other peripheral hairs more or less back- 

 ward. There are two longitudinal rows of four papillae 

 each on the notogaster ; these bear hairs similar to 

 those just described. The first three pairs stand nearly 

 upright, the first being the shortest ; the fourth pair 

 are far the longest hairs on the body and almost hori- 

 zontal ; they are doubly curved and curled round at 

 their ends, and in form resemble the great feathers in 

 the tail of the Lyre-bird. 



Distribution. — For many years I had only two or 

 three specimens of this species, which I found at the 

 Land's End, Cornwall, but in December, 1885, I dug 

 up several moles' nests in the Midland Counties to search 

 for other Acari, and amongst the dead leaves which 

 composed some of these subterranean nests I found a 

 considerable number of adults of the present species, 

 and from them, when kept in my own cells, I succeeded 

 in breeding the nymphs. 



I am not aware that the species has been captured 

 by anyone except myself. 



