28 
The Queensland Naturalist. 
Oct., I92i 
TRANSACTIONS. 
WATER BEARS, OR TARDIGRADA. 
By W. R. Colled ge. 
These quaint and curious creatures are very widely 
diffused, but seldom noticed, because they are not searched 
for. They measure less than a millimetre in length, and 
greatly resemble a minute bear while in their habitat. 
Sub-Kingdom Arth ropoda. 
Class II. Arachnida. Order viii., Tardigrada, Milnesium. 
Recently, when I pulled up a tuft of grass, soaking and 
shaking it in a glass of water, our little tailless friend 
appeared in the sediment. 
The water bears have been neglected until recent years, 
and now a large number of species are described. The one 
under observation corresponds with genus 6 Milnesium , 
Doyle. The body shows scarcely a trace of segmentation, 
