SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



293 



period the larvae were free swimmers, was twelve 

 days. In colour they are yellow, with red mark- 

 ings in the body portion. Length, about 0.48 mm. 



V. — Cuyvipes nt/its Koch, 1S35-4T. 

 Female : Body. — Very much the same shape 

 as Cui'vipcs fuscatus (fig. 19) ; but much smaller, 

 being only 132 mm. long, and 086 mm. broad. 



Fig. 24, C. nifus.— Inside surface of right palpus. 



Colour, a bright scarlet with black markings. The 

 part where the eyes are situated is nearly colour- 

 less. I have found another variety of this mite of 

 a pale-blue colour. Piersig has also noticed this, 

 and figures in his great work two varieties, one red 

 and one of a dirty green. Koch had also found 

 the same species of different colours, but gave to 

 each variety a new specific name, which error 

 Piersig has carefully pointed out. 



Legs, a greenish yellow, as are all the chiti- 

 nous parts of this mite. First leg about 1-04 mm. 

 The fourth leg 1 32 mm. The other legs are in 

 between those lengths. 



Epimera, small, and arranged in four groups, as 

 is usual in this genus, and similar to those already 

 figured. 



Palpi, short (fig. 24), 036 mm. in length. 



Genital Plates (fig. 25) are different to any 

 of those I have figured before. There are four 

 distinct groups, two on each side of the genital 

 fissure. The smaller ones contain one large disc 

 and have three hairs springing out from the 

 anterior portions. The larger ones contain about 

 nine or ten discs each, and have also three hairs 

 springing out on the posterior ends, near the 



yet found any in the few mites of this species I 

 have examined. 



Male. — I have not yet seen a male of this 

 species. Piersig gives a figure of the male, and I 

 hope to meet with it later. It is not a common 

 mite ; I have only found the female a few times. 

 The two best specimens were taken during a 

 (juekett Club excursion to Oxshott. 

 (To be continued.) 



SEAWATER-MITE FOUND IN 

 FRESH WATER. 



T T ITHERTO. so far as I know or can find 

 out, the Halacaridae have only been found 

 in sea water ; but during last autumn I went 

 on an excursion to Weybridge, in Surrey, and 

 made some collections from the canal there 

 and a pond adjoining. I did not examine all my 

 bottles until a few weeks afterwards, when, to 



Fig. 1, Raphignathus falcatus (?), dorsal surface. 



Fig. 2, Ventral surface, showing genital plates and 



anal orifice. 



1 



Fig. 25, C. rufus — Genital area of female. 



median line. Piersig also figures two or three 

 hairs growing amongst the discs, but I have not 



my surprise, I found some strange-looking crea- 

 tures crawling about on rootlets in the trough that 

 1 had taken from either the canal or pond. This 

 is the description of them, the outlines of the 

 creature being shown in the accompanying sketch 

 by Mr. Chas. D. Soar : extreme length, 088 mm. ; 

 length of palpi, 0-24 mm. ; width of body, 035 mm. ; 

 length of first leg, 038 mm. ; length of fourth leg, 

 0.44 mm. Colour, orange-brown ; body truncate 

 above insertion of first legs ; head forming a broad 

 subtriangular bulbous projection from which stands 



