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XXV. — Arctic Tardigrada, collected by Wm. S. Bruce. By James Murray. 

 Communicated by William S. Bruce. (With Two Plates.) 



(MS. received January 11, 1907. Read February 21, 1907. Issued separately July 6, 1907.) 



These notes on Arctic Tardigrada embody the results of an examination of quantities 

 of moss collected by Mr William S. Bruce on his various expeditions to the Arctic 

 Regions. 



AVhile studying the Tardigrada of the Scottish lochs, I wished to compare our 

 Tardigrade fauna with that of more northern lands, as it was thought that, considering 

 the geographical position of Scotland, its fauna might have some relation with that of 

 those lands. Mr Bruce was kind enough to put all his available material at my 

 disposal. 



The various expeditions to the North in which Mr Bruce took part cover a period 

 of ten years, from 1896 to 1906. They are: — The Jackson-Harmsworth Polar Ex- 

 pedition, 1896 and 1897; Mr Andrew Coats' Expedition to Novaya Zemlya, Wiche 

 Islands, and Barent's Sea, 1898; H.S.H. The Prince of Monaco's Expedition, Spits- 

 bergen and North Polar Regions, 1898; H.S.H. The Prince of Monaco's Expedition, 

 Spitsbergen and North Polar Regions, 1899 ; H.S.H. The Prince of Monaco's 

 Expedition, Spitsbergen, 1906. 



The material collected on the earlier expeditions was all preserved in spirit, and 

 its use was limited to the identification of adult examples. The moss collected in the 

 1906 expedition was of especial value, as, by previous arrangement with Mr Bruce, the 

 collections were made with a view to the study of the microfauna. Mr Bruce 

 collected the moss just before departing for the South at the end of August, and I was 

 thus enabled to examine it in the fresh condition within a month afterwards. In this 

 way I could study the animals when alive, by which the structures of the various 

 organs can be better made out than in contracted specimens. The chief advantage of 

 having the fresh moss was, however, that the young could be watched issuing from the 

 eggs, and thus the identity of certain eggs with the adult animals established. 



There is no part of the world the Tardigrada of which have received so much 

 attention as Spitsbergen, except Germany. The other parts of the Arctic Regions 

 visited by Mr Bruce appear to be virgin soil as regards the study of the Tardigrada, 

 except Bear Island, from which 1 species, M. ornatus, was known. 



The collections examined were from Bear Island, Spitsbergen, Franz Josef Land, 

 Novaya Zemlya, and Kolquev, and in all but the last named some Tardigrada were 

 obtained. Very few species were tound in Bear Island and Novaya Zemlya, but the 



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