THE 



MONTHLY MICROSCOPICAL JOURNAL. 



MAY 1, 1873. 



I. — A New Calliclina: with the Result of Experiments on the 



Desiccation of Rotifers. By Henry Davis, F.K.M.S. 



{Bead be/ore the Eoyal Microscopical Society, April 2, 1873.) 



Plate XIV. 



It is just six years since the Eev. Lord S. G. Osborne forwarded by 

 post to several rnicroscopists in London, small parcels of a few 

 grains of a dry dusty powder, labelled " Philodina roseola " ; and 

 one of these being kindly consigned to me, no time was lost in 

 watering the dust in a stage-tank as directed. Almost immediately 

 the contained pink ovoid bodies, seen in profusion under a low 

 power, began to swell, lengthen, and, finally, either put forth a pair 

 of rotatory organs for purveying and swimming, or everted a pro- 

 boscis and crawled out of the field. 



As a first experience this revival was sufficiently interesting, 

 but it was no novelty, for the same thing was witnessed by Leu- 

 wenhoek more than 150 years ago ; but a careful scrutiny of the 

 lively inhabitants of my tank brought to light the fact that it con- 

 tained two distinct kinds — the P. roseola, as expected, and a very 

 few crawling strangers, having blunt rounded heads, in contour like 

 those of the Tardigrades ; and although undoubted " wheel animal- 



EXPLANATION OF PLATE XIV. 



Fig. 1. — Callidina vaga : ventral view. X 200. 



„ 2. — Ditto : side view. 



,, 3. — Ditto contracted : dorsal view. 



„ 4. — Ditto „ In the " dry " state. 



„ 5. — Ditto : side view of a single detached ramus : one of a pair of hard 

 processes beneath the teeth-plates of the mastax. x 500 about. 



„ 6 a. — Ditto. Hard parts of the mastax : the rami seen through the teeth- 

 plates. 



„ 6 6. — Ditto. Ideal section of 6 a, made through the part corresponding to 

 the dotted line. 



„ la. — Ditto. Hard parts of mastax: with teeth-plates opened and rami 

 turned on their long axis, showing short branches. 



„ 7 b. — Ditto. Ideal section of 7 «, through dotted line. 



,, 8. — Ditto. Ideal section of mastax, when the teeth-plates are brought into 

 contact crushing food. In these ideal sections, the probable positions 

 only, of muscles are indicated. 

 VOL. IX. Q 



