The Eotifera of South Africa. By Charles F. Rousselet. 397 



As the Hon. Thomas Kirkman has been, and still is, working at the 

 Eotifera of Natal, I made no collections either at Durban or Pieter- 

 maritzburg, preferring to leave this field entirely to him, and he 

 has since then sent in a second list of Natal Eotifers, which has 

 been read at our last meeting (7). 



After visiting Colenso and Ladysmith, we journeyed to 

 Johannesburg, arriving there on August 28, where we were most 

 hospitably entertained by the inhabitants, and a large number of 

 papers were read in the various sections during our five days' stay. 

 Here I endeavoured with but little success to find suitable pools 

 or reservoirs of water. I Avent to a large reservoir of clear water, 

 triangular in shape, walled up on two sides, which, I think, must 

 have been near the City and Suburban Gold Mine. I examined 

 the water in various places, but could see no living creature in it 

 of any kind; looking round, I saw various mountains of white 

 sand from the mines, and, considering that all these refuse heaps 

 had been treated with cyanide of potassium, and that the rainwater 

 flowing down then- sides runs into the spruit which feeds this reser- 

 voir, it was not difficult to account for the absence of all animal 

 life in the water. I also tried to reach a town-water reservoir, 

 situated on high ground in the north-east district, but it was closed 

 all round, so that I could not get at the water. Finally, my host 

 kindly sent me for a long drive through the northern suburbs, 

 where I came to a spruit and a farm with a small reservoir of 

 water, and here I found the following species of Rotifers — 



Synchosta pcctinata Ehrbg. 

 Copeus cerbcrus Gosse. 

 Hydatina senta Ehrbg. 

 Euchlanis oropha Gosse. 

 Metopidia lepadella Ehrbg. 



August 31 was set aside for an excursion to Pretoria, and 

 there, in the grounds of the Zoological Gardens, I found the 

 aquatic birds' pond quite green with Euglena viridis, and- from its 

 water obtained the following species of Eotifers — 



Brachionus pala Ehrbg. Abundant. 



„ furculatvs Thorpe. Abundant. 



Metopidia rhomboides Gosse. 



Brachionus furculatus was a most interesting find, as this large 

 species had not been seen since Fleet-Surgeon Gunson Thorpe (19) 

 first discovered it in Simons Bay in 1890, and it has not yet been 

 recorded from any place outside South Africa. The male was also 

 present in abundance, and I can confirm Surgeon Thorpe's state- 

 ment that the male has a distinct lorica, spineless, much smaller 



