Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 May 2009
The general larval characters of the genus Spirontocaris are summarized by Gurney (1937b), but since his paper was written there have been published descriptions of S. spinus var. lilljeborgi (see Lebour, 1937) and of S. pusiola (see Bull, 1938). The four British Columbian species described by Needler (1933) must also be taken into consideration. With our present knowledge of all these species the description must be slightly modified. We now know the larvae of all the British species of this genus with the exception of the typical form of S. spinus. The specimen from which the larvae were hatched was intermediate between the typical S. spinus and the var. lilljeborgi and was regarded as the latter. The following species are British: S. polaris, S. spinus and its var. lilljeborgi, S. gaimardi, S. pusiola, S. occulta and S. cranchi. S. polaris is a northern form, the only British records being from the Shetlands. It has an abbreviated development, described by Stephensen (1912b, 1916, 1935).