On a Fresh Water Valved Vaginicola. 205 



Scliickliard and Phocylides; Schemer and Blancanus, Moretus 

 and Short; Ge minus andBurckhardt. 



Occultations.— April 8th. ALDEBARAN, 2h. 9m. to 3h. 

 9m.— 9th. 130 Tauri, 6 mag. 7h. 33m. to 9h. 40m. The former 

 will be interesting, as taking place in broad day ; but it will 

 probably require an equatorial mounting to find the moon, 

 being then a crescent of less than four days old. 



ON A FRESH WATER VALYED VAGINICOLA. 



BY HENRY J. SLACK, F.G.S., HON. SEC. E.M.S. 



In Pritchard's Infusoria (4th edition) is an account of a valved 

 Yaginicola, described by Dr. Wright, and sketches of the crea- 

 ture are given in Plate xxviii., Figs. 18 and 19. It is described 

 as " distinguished from V. crystallina by the remarkable valve 

 existing in its case or sheath — which closes in an inclined 

 position over the animal, when it retreats to the bottom of its 

 case ; by the body being colourless, without the green glo- 

 bules seen in V. crystallina, and by being an inhabitant of salt 

 water instead of fresh." No size is given of the valved 

 species, but V. crystallina is stated to be 1 — 210" in the length 

 of its tube, or "lorica/' as these tubes are absurdly called. 

 Dr. Wright's Vaginicola is represented with a straight-sided 

 cylindrical tube, and when the animal is retracted, the valve, 

 as shown in the drawings, forms a conspicuous dark line 

 slanting upwards " across the tube, commencing rather higher 

 than half way up, and terminating on the opposite side 

 between one quarter and one-fifth below the tube's mouth."" 

 When closed the valve is shown as pressed on one side of 

 the tube. 



The form of Dr. Wright's animal is like that of an ordinary 

 Yaginicola when expanded, with the usual ciliated peristome 

 and when retracted, it is shown as a long oval, pointed at the 

 foot end. 



I am not aware that anyone else has described a valved 

 Yaginicola, and if not, the one now mentioned may be new. It 

 was found on a sprig of myriophyllum, kindly given to me by 

 Mr. H. Davis, with some specimens of the new rotifers dis- 

 covered by him last year in a pond between Walthamstow and 

 Ley ton. In point of size it is much larger than V. crystallina, 

 having a tube nearly 1 — 100" loug, and irregular in shape, as 



