A NEW ROTIFER. DAI 
A NEW ROTIFER. 
BY J. LEVICK, 
In July last a visit was made to Olton Reservoir by a few members 
of the Birmingham Natural History and Microscopical Society, when I 
had the good fortune to find that curious Hntomostracan, since proved 
to be Leptodora hyalina, a description and figure of which are given at 
page 225. This species had been discovered before only in Sweden and 
Germany. 
Upon carefully examining the contents of my bottles under the 
microscope, I noted other rare things, and became very desirous of 
hunting again in the same locality. 
By the kind courtesy of our esteemed member, Mr. C. T. Parsons, 
T have been able to revisit the pool, which is private property, upon several 
occasions, and have now the pleasure of recording the discovery of a 
most strange-looking Rotifer, (Plate VI., Fig. 1,) which is new to this 
country, and has only most recently been known even to science, and to 
which I had given the provisional name of Anurea tricornuta. 
I sent a sketch and mounted specimens to Dr. C. T. Hudson, to whom 
I am much indebted for his kind aid, and who expressed his belief that 
my Rotifer was the same creature as one discovered in Niagara water by 
Professor D. §. Kellicott, of Buffalo, U.S., who gave a description and 
figure in the “ Journal of the Royal Microscopical Society” of April last, 
under the proposed name of Anurea longispina. 
Notwithstanding that I am unable to make my Rotifer agree with 
the Professor’s details and drawing in some important points, the general 
characters are so nearly alike that I have no doubt our Rotifers are 
identical. I must refer your readers to the before-named publication for 
his account of it, and will here give only such particulars asI have been able 
to make out in the short time the Rotifer has been under my observation. 
As seen in the microscope it is a formidable-looking creature, and may 
be compared to a three-pronged fork with a handle. Its extreme 
length is about 1-40th of an inch; it has a hard glassy lorica, which 
reflects light nearly as brilliantly as does the silicious epiderm of a 
diatom ; it has four spines, three anterior and one posterior, the former 
roughened or serrated the whole length, the latter only towards the end 3 
the long frontal spine is straight, starting from the upper terminal edge 
of the carapace, those at the angles curved outwards and downwards; the 
posterior spine is also slightly curved, all being perfectly rigid, having no 
hinges or joints. 
A reference to my sketch (Plate VI., Fig. 1) will give a better idea of 
the form of the lorica than I can do in words, but it is described by the 
Professor as “‘ ovate-cuneate ;” it is convex on the dorsal and somewhat 
REFERENCES TO PLATE VI. 
Fig. 1.—New Rotifer, Anwrea longispina, x 240 diameters. 
Fig. 2.—Ceratiwm longicorne (?) x 300 diameters ; from Olton. 
Fig. 3.—Ceratiwm longicorne (?) x 300 diameters from Sutton Park. 
LL 
