


62 THE NORTHERN MICROSCOPIST. 



eye as in the case with the AZucedines, and its fine and vivid tints 
mingled with metallic lustre offer a great contrast to the sombre 
shades of its dwellings. In this part of the world, among so many 
objects which claim our attention, the Myxogasters present one of 
the most attractive and certainly the most mysterious of studies. 
Dr. L. QUELET, 
Translated from the Oct.—Dec. number of the J. de Photo. et de 
Micr. 

REMARKS SUGGESTED. BY THE STUDY OF 
1 Ee EER ED Ze 
By W. BuLackpurn, F.R.M.S. 
N considering this family of insects in reference to the number 
and distribution of existing species, and the number of fossil 
remains of reputed species that have from time to time been found 
in the Devonian and other rocks, we are led to regard its chief 
characteristics under two heads—ubiquity and antiquity. In 
reference to its ubiquity, we find that of the 180 species already 
classified, 74 are found in Europe, of which 37 are British, 67 are 
peculiar to America, nineteen belong to Asia, seven to Africa, eleven 
to Australasia, and two to Oceania. These are exclusive of fossil and 
undetermined recent species. Notwithstanding this limitation of 
species to certain areas, if we consider the distribution of any single 
genus, we find in most cases it is spread over a considerable portion 
of the globe. The genus Heptagenia, for instance, of which there are 
eight British species, has been found in such distant localities as. 
Hammerfest in Finmark, the most northerly town in Europe, in 
Spain, China, India, the Philippine Islands, Java, Manitoba, the 
United States, the Andes, and Chili. This genus frequents cold 
streams and the rapids of rivers; one species being found at the 
Lac de Combal, near the foot of one of the glaciers of Mont 
Blanc, at an altitude of 6,300 feet, and surrounded by snow, which 
is melted only in warm seasons. Another species is found in the 
rapid Rhone at Geneva, and others in the immediate vicinity of 
American falls. The genus Czenis, which has four British species, 
is found to inhabit such distant localities as Russia, Ceylon, and 
Florida. The genus Ephemera, represented by the common May- 
fly, has four species peculiar to Europe, three to America, and four 


* A paper read before the Manchester Microscopical Society on the 2nd Feb. 
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