144 
Transactions of the Society. 
studying the former of these I have had the assistance of Mr. M. J. 
Michael, who has also cut some excellent sections, from one of which 
tig. 11, plate IV., is drawn. 
I say above, “ which I call U. ovalis Koch and TJ. vegetans de 
Geer.” I use that expression because there has been, and still exists, 
great confusion about the synonymy of these two species ; and 
although this is entirely an anatomical paper, it seems necessary to 
enter into the question in order that biologists may be able to 
identify the creatures I am talking about. TJ. ovalis is a name first 
used by C. L. Koch.* * * § He calls it Notas^is ovalis, following an error 
of Hermann’s,! who mistook his species of the genus Uropoda, viz. 
U. cassidea, for one of the Oribatidse. Koch, in the same work,! 
describes another species, which he calls obscurus.’' The most 
striking differences are, that ovalis is almost pointed at the hinder 
end, and is stated to he one of the largest species ; obscurus is rounded 
at the hinder end, “ mit regelmassig gerundetem Hinterrande,” and 
it is not stated to be large. Julius Muller was the next who used the 
name. § 
In 1876 ]\Iegnin|| described a species which he called Uropoda 
scutata; he did not figure it, and I do not see how it is possible to 
identify anything from his extremely short description ; nevertheless 
Haller, •[[ in 1881, described and figured what he called the U. scutata 
of Megnin. Haller’s figure was certainly drawn from the creature 
which I have been dissecting, and which I believe to be the U. ovalis 
of Koch. 
In 1876 Kramer** described as U. ovalis a species with a 
rounded posterior margin, which does not appear to me to agree 
with Koch’s figure or description ; but which, as will he seen below, 
I think may probably he identical with what must be considered to 
be U. vegetans of de Geer. 
In 1877 Canestrini and Fanzagoft simply followed Kramer. 
In 1881 Berlese !! described the species with the nearly pointed 
posterior margin which 1 have been dissecting, and in 1884 he pub- 
lished a good figure of it.§§ In both of these works he calls it 
Uropoda (or Notaspis) obscura Koch, which in my opinion is an 
* ‘ Deutsclilands Crustaceen, Miriapodeu und Arachniden,’ Kegensburg, 
1835-41, Heft xvii. fig. 21. 
t ‘Me'moire Apterologique,’ Strasbourg, 1804. X tleft ii- fi?* 5. 
§ “ Insecten Epizoen der Mahrischen Fauna,” Jahresheft der Naturwiss. 
Sektion der Mahr-Schles. Ges., 1859, pp. 157-84. 
jl “ Mem. sur TOrganisation, &c., des Acariens de la famille des Gamasides.” 
Journ. de I’Anat, et de la Physiol. (Robin’s), May 1876. 
If “ Acarinologisches.” Archiv fiir Naturges., 1881, p. 185. 
** “Zur Naturg. einiger Gattungen aus d. Familie d. Gamasiden.” Archiv 
fiir Naturges., 1876, p. 78. 
tt “Intorno agli Acari Italiani.” Atti d. E. 1st. Ven. d. Sci. Let. ed Arti, 
1877, p. 59. 
XX “Indagini sulle metamorfosi di alcuni Acari insetticoli.” Op. cit., 1881. 
‘Acari Miriapodi e Scorpioni Italiani,” fasc. xi. pi. viii., Padua, 1884. 
