ROTIFERA. 495 



FURCULARIA, Lamarck, 



The body is unarmed ; the tail is composed of articulations which enter one 

 into the other, and is terminated by two threads. 



It is on one of these the Furcularia or Rotifere des toitsth&t Spallanzani 

 performed his famous experiments. Covered with dust in the spouts on the 

 roofs of houses it becomes desiccated, and after remaining in that state for 

 several weeks re-acquires life and motion on being humected with a little 

 water. 



The TRICHOCERC.S:, Lam., appear to me to differ from the Furculariae only 

 in the diminished development of their vibratile organs. The 



VAGINICOLA, Lamarck, 



Seem to be Trichocercae with a diaphanous envelope ; but we may be allowed 

 to fear there has been some optical illusion. 



TUBICOLARIA, Lamarck, 



The Tubicolarise only differ from the Furculariae, by secreting themselves 

 in little tubes which they construct of foreign molecules, but which do not 

 form any portion of their body, like those of the Coralliferi (polypiers). Their 

 rotatory organ, however, shows itself out of the tube, nearly in the manner of 

 the head of Polypi. 



BRACHIONUS, Mutter. 



The Brachioni, with rotatory organs and a tail nearly similar to those of the 

 Furculariae, have a sort of membranous or squamous shield, which covers their 

 back like that of certain Monoculi. 



ORDER II. 



HOMOGENEA. 



THE body of the Homogenea presents neither viscera nor other compli- 

 , , , cation, and is frequently destitute of even the appearance of a 



V'V'.V* .'. mouth. 



, : V{;* * The first tribe comprises those, which, with a gelatinous body 

 more or less contractile in its different parts, still present external 



t\* c "V? ft organs consisting of cilia more or less strong. When they have 

 ^o \> c s> the form of a horn (cornet), from which the cilia issue as in the 



* * 6 Polypi called Vorticella;, we have the UREOLARIA, Lam. When 

 the body is flat, and these cilia are at one extremity, TRICHODA. When they 

 surround the whole body, LEUCOPHRA. When some of them are stout, and 

 represent species of horns, KERONA. And when these pretended horns are 



