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The number of Rotifer taxa known from Mauritania, is raised from 8 to 90. 61% of these are cosmopolitan, 1 is temperate — boreal, 18% are thermophilic and 20% are tropicopolitan. Most of them are widely distributed in Africa, but some species have limited distributions. The presence of Keratella testudo and Wolga spinifera is remarkable and is probably related to the unusual climatic conditions in the SW Sahara. One phenotype or ‘forma’ is new to science.

145 rotifer species were previously known from Sudan, mostly from the Nile valley and the NE of the country. In the present paper planktonic, periphytic and benthic samples from the Western provinces of Darfur and Kordofan are examined. They contained 77 species, in one or different forms, of which 67% were cosmopolitan, 15% thermophilic, 14% tropicopolitan, and 4% temperate-boreal. No new taxa were found, but 23 species and one subspecies are new to Sudan, while one is new to Africa.

Two series of plankton samples, collected in different parts of the Ivory Coast, are examined for their rotifer content. Seventy-one taxa are identified to species level, some of which are present in different forms. Seventeen taxa are new to the Ivory Coast, three are new to Africa. Ecological and distributional notes are given. The correct spelling of Brachionus quadridentatus f. melhemi is discussed.

A collection of rotifers contained in samples from the Blue, White and joint Niles in the Sudan, the Red Sea Hills, and Jebel Marra mountains is studied, and the previous literature on the rotifera of Sudan is reviewed. A total of 145 rotifer taxa are now known from this country. Ecological and distributional notes on selected species are added. Besides cosmopolitan, pantropical, and tropical species, a small but significant fraction of the fauna is of northern origin, possibly reflecting climatic conditions of the late-Pleistocene.

Seventy-eight rotifer species are reported from 19 localities in Turkey. About half are first records for that country. Some interesting species are illustrated and the composition of the regional fauna is discussed. Wide-ranging taxa are dominant, with notbale additions of tropical, subtropical, afrotropical and circumboreal species. Many are restricted to saline environments, where some show an unusual vertical distribution. Endemism is suspected in a few taxa.

The distribution of rotifers in African fresh and inland saline waters is discussed in the light of historical expeditions and modern limnological research. Number of papers published and number of rotifer species described for each country are given. Some peculiarities of African rotifer fauna are described.

24 plankton samples, collected in different parts of the Republic of Senegal (W. Africa) were examined for their rotifer content. Seventy taxa were identified to species level, some of which were present in different forms. Thirty three taxa and forms are new to Senegal, three species are new to Africa. Attention is paid to a cruciform population of Asplanchnella sieboldi and to a Brachionus quadridentatus population of very small dimensions. Two new taxa are described: Brachionus cf. angularis and Brachionus bidentatus senegalensis Koste & De Ridder.

In the course of investigations on the systematics and zoogeography of rotifers, the author found that 48% of all taxa treated showed a limited distribution (most were periphytic or benthic periphytic species from shallow waters). The following species were limited to the Palaearctic Region: Marine: Synchaeta triophtalmaLauterborn, S. voraxRousselet, and S. curvataLie-Pettersen. Brackish water: Colurella dicentra(Gosse), C. halophilaWulfert, and C. unicaudaEriksen. Among Holarctic species, Notholca psammarinaBuchholz & Rühmann and the two semi-species N.(striata) bipalium(O. F. Müller) and N(striata) striata(O. F. Müller) are discussed. A series of warm-stenothermic species were found to be pantropical: Lecane leontinaTurner, L. monostyla(Daday), L. harringi(Ahlstrom), Lepadella latusinus(Hilgendorf), Trichocerca chattoni(de Beauchamp), and Platyias leloupiGillard, while Lecane plesiaMyers and L. punctata(Murray) seemed to be confined to the Neotropical Region. The data collected also suggest that:i)i) Keratella wirketissiKutikova, K. kamtchaticaKutikova, K. cruciformis(Thompson), and K. eichwaldi(Levander) might be good species.ii)ii) Brachionus forficulaWierzejski, an Old World species, is a geographical vicariant of both B. havanaensisRousselet and B. traheaMurray from the New World.iii)iii) Cases of ecological vicariance are found in Testidinella elliptica(Ehrb.) and T. clypeata(O. F. Müller) from fresh and brackish water respectively; Keratella cruciformis(Thompson) and K. eichwaldi(Levander) from the sea and brackish water respectively; Keratella quadrata (O. F. Müller), K. valga(Ehrb.), and K. tropica(Apstein), dominant in arctic to cold-moderate, in warm-temperate, and in subtropical-tropical climates respectively. Some rotifer species are presently in expansion: the cases of K. tropicaand of Brachionus falcatusZacharias in Europe are analysed. A related case is that of man-made faunas: the presence of Brachionus havanaensisin Sangchrist Lake, Ill., USA, and the Rotifer fauna of the River Loire (France) are discussed.

In samples collected from different parts of the Republic of Mali (W-Africa), ninety-two taxa of rotifers were identified. Some were present in different forms; 56% were cosmopolitan, 19% thermophilous with a wide distribution, 20% tropicopolitan and 5% cold-stenothermous. These latter species seem to be relicts of palaeoclimatic conditions in Africa.

Investigations on the Rotifers of the brackish waters of the Lorraine (Moselle dept., France)1.The present paper is the result of the study of 80 samples collected between May 1st and August 10th 1965 in various brackish waters of eastern Lorraine (Moselle dept., France), by J. Duvigneaud, botanist, author of a comprehensive study of the halophile flora and vegetation of that region.2.Salt contained in the waters of the region studied is of geological origin. It is found in places where triassic layers touch the surface, e.g. in valley-bottoms or as a result of borings made for the needs of local industries. These salts are chiefly composed of chlorides, especially sodium chloride.3.The chlorinity of the waters studied varies quite considerably since in some places there is fresh water, while others are oligo-, meso-, poly- and even hyperhaline. A total of 35 Rotifer species have been identified, besides a number of illoricate forms, that became unrecognisable owing to formaline contraction.4.The Rotifer fauna of our milieu was compared with those of a number of Central-european regions with brackish waters of geological origin, that have been studied by various authors. The results showed that all the faunas implied possess a common structure. The latter consists of the following elements: