Clare Island Survey — Acarinida. 39 67 



The specimens here recorded are females, apparently in the deutonymphal 

 stage, they are of a pale yellowish-brown colour, the length is about 717ju. 

 The dorsal shield is large, gradually narrowed, and just reaches the hinder 

 margin of the body. Surface finely punctured and marked with a hexagonal 

 pattern which is more distinct in front and along the side margins. The latter 

 are minutely crenulate, there is a hair armature of strongly pectinated spines. 



Margin of the epistome (fig. 13) toothed, the long central process has a 

 finely spinous stem, and terminates in two flattened branches, the extremities 

 of which show three or four deep indentations. Over this central process 

 there are two shorter, outwardly curved processes. Sternal shield widely 

 separated from the genital plate. Anal shield circular, with two pairs of 

 spinous hairs. Lying between the genital and anal shields are a number of 

 small plates, at least two of these carry hairs. Legs rather long and of 

 robust build, hairs of the last pair very finely spinous, stronger than those of 

 the other pairs. Fixed chela with one large tooth, free chela with two rather 

 small teeth. 



Distribution. — Canestrini says this species lives under plants, in moss, and 

 in damp earth (Italy), and Oudemans records it from a number of Dutch 

 localities where it occurs amongst decaying leaves. 



Holostaspis marginatus (Herm.) var. littoralis nov. (PI. V, fig. 14a.) 



On the sea- shore at Westport I have found both sexes of a Holostaspis, 

 which is probably referable to a variety of H. marginatus (Herm.). 



The male example found is not mature, but the females are fully deve- 

 loped. It closely resembles the mite described by Berlese under the name of 

 H. baclius (1, Fasc. lii, 3). In a later reference (2, p. 70) he definitely 

 identifies this species as the tritonymph of H. marginatus (Herm.). 



The following is a short description of the male (fig. 14a) : — Length, 600^, 

 breadth, 380^. Colour yellow, outline of the body strongly emarginate in 

 front of the shoulders, which are well marked, and from thence the side 

 margins become gradually narrower, end of the body somewhat truncated. 

 The skin is finely punctured and scaly, and the hair vestiture is short ; the 

 two frontal bristles are very small and close together. Sternal plate, 

 with five pairs of short hairs, separated from the anal plate ; male genital 

 foramen funnel-shaped. The peritreme runs straight down from the shoulders, 

 only slightly sinuate, with the usual club-like stigmal area. 



The capitulum (fig. I4&) is nearly quadrate, hair armature of ventral 

 plate normal. Maxillary lobes lanceolate, placed rather close together. 

 Epistome (lig. 14c) shaped much as in H. marginatus (Herm.), extremities of 



