334 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



NOTES ON THE FAUNA OF THE COUNTEY OF 

 THE CHESS AND GADE. 



By T. E. Lones, M.A., LL.D., B.Sc. 



(Continued from p. 212.) 



Specimens of four species of Metopidia have so far been 

 obtained by me; these species are M. solidus, Gosse, M. oxyster- 

 num, Gosse, M. lepadella, Ehren., and M. acuminata, Ehren. 

 Of these species, M. solidus was the most generally distributed 

 and furnished the largest number of specimens, the specimens 

 of M. oxysternum were somewhat more numerous than those of 

 M. lepadella, and only three specimens of M. acuminata have 

 been obtained. These statements give some idea of the relative 

 frequency of occurrence of these four species in the country of 

 the Chess and Gade, for it has been my practice to obtain 

 samples of water from the various localities of the district at all 

 seasons of the year and exhaust these samples as completely as 

 possible. Notes have been made of all forms of life seen, 

 including some I have been unable to identify, and, in some 

 cases, the numbers have been counted. In this way, if there is 

 any preponderance of a species, the notes indicate this, and, in 

 some cases, give an idea of the relative numbers of specimens. 



11. Metopidia solidus, Gosse. The specimens of this species 

 were usually obtained by dredging at or near the surface, where 

 aquatic plants were plentiful. When on the slide and not 

 engaged amongst the vegetable matter which happened to be 

 there, they swam about rather slowly, often turning sideways 

 and swimming on their backs, and occasionally assuming an 

 upright position so as to show their bodies in end view. In this 

 position, the lorica was seen to be somewhat flat, convex on 

 both dorsal and ventral sides, and with the central part of the 

 dorsal side arched. The jointed foot was always extended, and 

 carried two tapering and pointed toes, which were often closed 



