1300 Wisconsin Academy of Science#, Arts, and Letters. 
SOME NEW AMERICAN WATER MITES. 
Frontipoda americana nov. spec. 
Kuth Marshall. 
(Plate I, fig. 1-8) 
The genus Frontipoda has been represented until recently by 
one species only F. musculus (Mull.). This, however, is found 
widely distributed over Europe. In 1911 Dr. Halbert found a 
new species in Ireland, which he calls F. carpentari; and in the 
same year, Dr. Karl Yiets described another new species, F. oxo- 
idea from Africa. There is now added an American species; 
this will probably be found to be widely distributed. It has al¬ 
ready been found in four places in Wisconsin (near Spooner, 
Cable, Delton, Madison), and in small pools near Ludington, 
Michigan, by the author; by Dr. E. A. Birge at New Orleans, and 
in collections from Sebago Lake, Maine, received from Mr. A. A. 
Doolittle. In all, twenty-four individuals have been examined. 
So far no other American species has been described. 
The most striking peculiarity of these water mites is the great 
compression of the body laterally. Moreover, the epimera are 
so completely united as to leave but traces of their outlines, and 
the shield thus formed covers almost the entire ventral surface, 
and even extends over the lateral surfaces to very near the 
center of the dorsal side, leaving but a narrow furrow extending 
from the region of the eyes to the posterior end. The genital 
area lies almost completely surrounded by this epimeral shield, 
the medium posterior parts of the last epimera not quite ap¬ 
proaching each other. The eyes lie close together. The genital 
cleft is guarded by two long flaps, and each has three elongated 
acetabula. 
