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Show 24 MR. G. S. BRADY ON BRITISH FRESHWATER MITES. [Jail. 2, Hab. Madagascar. . _ This Interesting little Warbler was sent by Mr. A. Kingdon from Madagascar, having been procured by that gentleman during a holiday excursion in the neighbourhood of Antananarivo. The form ot this new genus is closely allied to Phlexis, of which P. layardi, of South Africa, is the type ; but it differs in the form of the tail, which is composed of long loose feathers of lax texture with distinctly separated webs, very much as in Stipiturus of Australia. The typical specimen was presented to the Museum by Mr. Algernon Peckoyer, of Wisbech, to whom its discoverer Mr. Kingdon had forwarded it. 4. Notes on British Freshwater Mites. By G E O R G E S T E W - A R D S O N B R A D Y , M.D., F.L.S., C.M.Z.S., Professor of Natural History in the College of Physical Science, Newcastle-on-Tyne. [Eeceived December 7, 1876.] (Plates III. and IV.) Though Acari occur pretty abundantly at various depths in the sea, extending, indeed, from the littoral zone to a depth of several fathoms, I am not aware that any species have been recorded as living in fresh water ; and it is unfortunate that, in the case of those which form the subject of the present paper, I am not able to say with absolute certainty that they really lived in the water whence they were taken. It is just possible, though not (as I think) at all likely, that some of them may be terrestrial species which have been washed accidentally into the lakes or ponds in which I found them. Against this view, however, the perfect preservation of the specimens, and the fact of their belonging to unknown species, must be allowed considerable weight. I hope before long to be able to investigate the matter more closely, and to satisfy myself as to the real habitat of these little creatures. As regards Trombidium fuscum, at any rate, there can be no reasonable doubt: it has been found in so many places and in such abundance as to leave no misgiving as to its aquatic habitat. With this fact placed beyond doubt, and remembering that a closely allied family, the Hydrachnee, occurs in great profusion in fresh water, there need scarcely be much hesitation in accepting as truly aquatic the species which I here venture to describe as new. The literature of the Acarina is much scattered; and I have had no opportunity of reference to some important papers by Nicolet Claparede, &c. The generic definitions given by Duges, on which I chiefly depend, seem to require revision and amplification. At present it is not an easy matter to refer a new species to its proper genus; and it is quite possible that some of those now under consideration may eventually be found to belong to genera other than those to which I have assigned them. |