the rotifera

attention to the right use of the terms "dorsal" and " ventral" as applied to the Rotifera;
to the existence, in many species, of three antennae, holding definite positions with
respect to the dorsal and ventral surfaces; to the true nature of the entrance to the
crop of Floscularia ; and to the structure and function of the vibratile tags.
Dr. W. SALENSKY's paper, " Beitrage zur Entwicklungsgescliiclite der Brachionus
urceolaris,"
1 traces the gradual changes in the ovum, from its first division into two
unequal spheres, through its complete segmentation, to the formation of the germinal
layers, and the evolution of the various organs of the completed embryo. Although
the paper deals with only a single species, it is our principal contribution to the Embryology
of the Rotifera.
Dr. S. BARTSCH, in "Rotatoria Hungarian," 1877, and Herr KARL ECKSTEIN,
in " Die Rotatorien der Umgegend von Giessen," 2 have published treatises containing
descriptions and figures of local Rotifera (forty in Hungary and fifty at Giessen), including
two or three new species; as well as new classifications of the whole class
ROTIFERA.
Of Dr. BARTSCH's work I can say but little, as it is written unfortunately in Hungarian.
His figures, though somewhat archaic, are well worth the studying ; and he gives
drawings and descriptions (happily this time in Latin) of six new species, of which two
had been recorded in England some years before.
Herr ECKSTEIN also gives many interesting details of his local species, of which
two are new ; and adds a general discussion of the structure, development, affinities, and
classification of the whole class. His treatise also contains useful lists of synonyms,
as well as a good bibliography of the subject.
The last edition (1861) of PRITCHARD's " History of Infusoria," by Dr. Arlidge and
others, is a work differing in character from any of the above. About one-sixth of it is
devoted to the Rotifera, and contains descriptions of the whole of the then known species,
illustrated by a great many figures. Both the descriptions and the figures have been mainly
taken from Ehrenberg's work, which is closely followed throughout; but they have been
supplemented by others taken from the various treatises mentioned above.
As a compilation, it is not only the best, but almost the only, English work on the
subject. It contains, moreover, an admirable and exhaustive treatise on " The General
History of the Rotifera " as a class, dealing minutely with their structure, reproduction,
development, systematic position, and classification.
This original and most valuable essay may be said to be indispensable to all students
of the Rotifera, bringing together, as it does, into one point of view, the opinions of all
the best observers, on the many vexed questions that these little creatures have given
rise to, not only as to their organization and development, but as to their relations to
the rest of the animal kingdom.
A full list of works on the Rotifera, including numerous papers that have been
published in various scientific periodicals, will be found at the end of this work.
1 Sicb. u. KM. Zeits. 1872.
2 Sieb. u. Koll. Zcits. 1883.
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