WHBEL-BEAEEES. 277 



are attached. The ramus also of the same side is 

 larger than its fellow ; so with the mallei. The mamin 

 hrium of the right is comparatively short, very slender, 

 and of uniform thickness ; with a long, slender, rod- 

 like uncus, doubly bent in the middle. The left is 

 much longer, irregularly swollen, clubbed at the artic- 

 ulation, and bearing a thick, curved, knotted u/ncus, 

 which terminates . at a point not precisely opposite the 

 tip of its fellow. These circumstances, combined with 

 the unsymmetrical character of the dorsal ridge, of the 

 foot-spine, and of some other organs, render this genus 

 a highly curious one to the naturalist. 



The little Whiptail is as lively in its motions as it 

 is elegant in its form. When swimming, it glides with 

 considerable swiftness through the water, turning fre- 

 quently on its course, and often partially revolving on 

 its long axis. When inclosed, as is often the case, by 

 two fragments of the filamentous Ohara, it travels 

 along the sides of its inclosure, nibbling, as it goes, 

 the floccose and sedimentary deposits on the surfaces 

 of the leaves. The long spine-foot is commonly carried 

 inertly after it ; when the animal suddenly turns, of 

 course the tail is bent at the basal joint, but it is not 

 habitually whisked about, as is the tail of Braohionus, 

 nor is it so much used as a support or turning point. 

 The animal has the power of so using it, however, and 

 of adhering with considerable force to the glass of the 

 box or the side of a phial, by its point. 



We have hitherto looked at our Hotifera by trans- 

 mitted light, and their crystalline transparency renders 

 them beautiful objects when thus exhibited. But we 

 will now look at the Whiptail by the direct light of 

 the sun upon it, condensed, but not to a burning point, 

 by the bull's-eye lens. 



