Clare Island Survey — Acarinida. 39 49 



Dr. E. Reuter, 1 at least as regards the super-family and family groups. It is 

 difficult not to agree with the same writer's remarks on the undesirahility of 

 changing the well-known name Gamasidae in favour of the less suitable one 

 Parasitidae as has been done recently by some acarologists. Gamasus is 

 retained in the present paper. 



Order ACARINA. 



Sub-Order GAMASOIDEA. 



Family GAMASIDAE. 



Gamasus (Gamasus) fimetorum Berl. 



An immature male example of this species occurred under bark in the 

 Westport demesne in July. 



Distribution. — Germany (Voigts and Oudemans) ; Italy (" in fimetis totius 

 Italiae" Berl.); Corfu (Thon). 



Gamasus (Gamasus) Kempersi Oudms. 



1902. Oudemans 74, p. 36. 1906. Berlese 13, p. 143. 



Westport, $ and $ under stones on the sea shore, July ; Mulranny, $ , $ 

 and nymphs on the shore of Bellacragher Bay, September. 



This species is apparently common, where it occurs, on the sea-coast. I 

 have also found it in numbers under stones between tide-marks at Howth, 

 County Dublin. 



Gamasus Kempersi is a rather weakly chitinized species which may be 

 recognized by the armature of the second legs in the male, the bilobed 

 process on the basal segments of the palps, and the absence of a tritosternum, 

 a structure which is present, however, in the female of the species. 



In his original description of this mite Oudemans remarks that the patella 

 of the second legs is armed with a bifid process, and that the epistome " does 

 not show any spines," which has led Berlese to conclude that the Dutch 

 specimens represent a variety for which he suggests the name var. denticidata. 

 However this may be, the Irish specimens agree with those described by 

 Berlese, in which the patella has a small cone-shaped process, and the 

 epistome carries the usual three spines. 



Distribution. — Sea-shores of southern Italy (Berlese) ; Norway ; Holland 

 (near Nijkirk, Oudemans). 



1 Zur Morphulogie und Ontogenie der Acariden. Acta Soc. Scient. Fennicae. Tom. xxxvin. 4. 



