THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 39 



act of extending the corona, and is usually covered by the 

 reflection of the dorsal lobes. Viewed from the side, a chin 

 of moderate length overhangs the strongly ciliated cup. The 

 foot is readily seen, through the semi-transparent tube, to 

 terminate in a short cylindrical and very slender peduncle. We 

 were unable to observe much of the internal anatomy (for the 

 animal, though projecting well from the tube, is restless); but a 

 light brownish mass immediately under the ciliated cup was 

 conspicuous, and there appeared indications of a duct joining 

 them. This point, however, requires further investigation. 

 What we saw of the alimentary tract agreed with the other 

 species of the genus. Ova are lodged in the tube. The 

 animals first noticed made no use of the pellet-forming organ ; 

 but others, particularly young ones, were repeatedly observed 

 making and fixing fibres. These are produced with great 

 rapidity — a small pellet first appears, as in M. ringens and 

 M. conifera, in the ciliated cup, and is gradually projected out- 

 wards, while material is added from behind, so that the pellet is 

 speedily changed to a sausage-shaped mass, and increases further 

 in length to form a long filament. Then the animal jerks back- 

 ward into the tube, not with the apparent deliberation displayed 

 by M. ringens in affixing its pellets, but making a dash, which 

 sometimes needs repeating before the fibre is left attached to the 

 tube. Occasionally the animal fails to attach it, and the fibre 

 floats away. The whole process of fixing gives the impression 

 of an action automatically repeated until the animal is rid of an 

 encumbrance which its industry has created. The fibres 

 evidently possess properties enabling them to adhere when 

 pressed down with a certain amount of force. It is not clear 

 how the material reaches the ciliated cup, as we were unable to 

 detect it flowing out of the posterior portions of the buccal 

 opening and down ciliated grooves as described in M. ringens. 

 The observations made with regard to amount of material 

 entering the buccal opening, and the rapidity of the formation 

 of a fibre, suggest a supply of mucous largely augmenting the 

 solid matter obtained by the trochal system. This feature of the 

 animal generally, we believe, deserves attention in the future. 



Comparing the rotifer with M. titbicolaria the points of differ- 

 ence are — shorter ventral antennse ; position and form of dorsal 

 antennse ; terminal peduncle, though in regard to this latter 

 feature Hudson and Gosse's figure does not show the termination 

 of the foot, while Ehrcnberg's figure of Tubicolaria naias 

 (regarded by Hudson as identical with Melicerta tubicolaria) 

 does show a termination such as we find in the animal now 

 described. The chief distinctive point is the structure of the 

 tube. Observers such as Dr. Hudson could not possibly have 

 described the tube of the animal in question as " a gelatinous 



