116 J. MURRAY 



Macrobiotus montanus, sp. n. (Plate XV. Figs. lOa-lCkZ) 



Specific characters. Large, brown ; gullet wide ; pharynx with three short rods 

 and a " comma " ; claws of hufelandi type, united for half their length, those of each 

 pair equal and placed side by side, but only one with a strong supplementary point ; 

 egg spherical, covered with hemispherical processes, which almost meet at their bases. 



Detailed description. Length about 500 M and upwards : diameter of egg, over 

 the processes, 75 to 80 M. Old examples are deeply coloured with a dull brown 

 pigment similar to that of M. hufelandii. The claws are thick and strong, and are 

 nearly equal : in most species of the hufelandi group they are more or less unequal, 

 often markedly so. The gullet is wide, and the teeth strong and curved ; the end of 

 the gullet in the pharynx expands into a prominent flange, beyond which the 

 apophyses are fixed. The three thickenings in the pharynx are just about equal 

 in size ; they are twice as long as broad, and are rounded at the ends ; the " comma " 

 is rather an obscure one. 



Habitat. Among moss gathered by Dr. Mackay on the Nun's Veil Mountain, 

 in the Mount Cook district, South Island, at an elevation of about GOOO feet, on the 

 occasion when that peak was ascended for the first time, December 1907. 



Remarks. M. montanus is one of a large group of species, closely related to 

 M. hufelandii. All of them possess wide gullets and strong teeth. The pharynx 

 has either three distinct rods, or the two next the gullet are united, usually showing 

 traces of their component rods. The claws are united for a considerable distance, 

 usually half-way or more, and one of each pair has one or two supplementary points. 

 The eggs are spherical and are ornamented with processes of various form. 



The majority of the species have eggs very different from those of M, montanus. 

 It is only necessary to compare it critically with one or two species which approach it 

 very closely. Those are M. meridionalis, Richters (40), and M. polaris, Murray (see 

 the preceding section on Antarctic Tardigrada in this paper, p. 98). 



According to Professor Richters, M. meridionalis has the processes on the egg 

 nipple-shaped, which he explains in a letter as being a hemispherical base surmounted 

 by a narrower portion. This form of egg I know from the Scottish mountains, though 

 we did not find it in the Antarctic. 



The egg of M. polaris differs markedly from both. The surface of the shell is 

 reticulate, like that of M. areolatus (see Canadian Tardigrada, p. 167 of this paper). 

 The double shell encloses a series of compartments, showing as polygons at the 

 surface. From certain polygons arise the processes, at such distance apart that they 

 are separated always by one polygon. The processes vary from round to acuminate. 

 The polygons are relatively much smaller than in M. areolatus. M. polaris has 

 moreover, much more slender and very unequal claws, and the gullet is relatively 

 narrower. M. montanus was found to be alive after the moss containing it had been 



