334 Annals of the South African Museum. 



character. The number of spinous pads on the rudimentary legs 

 appears to be always variable. 



The colour is useful if associated with structural characters, 

 although, owing to its great range of variation, it would be unwise 

 to found a species on the colour alone. Of course exceptions to this 

 rule may possibly occur. Species inhabiting the same locality may 

 often be easily distinguished from one another by their colour ; so, 

 for instance, capensis from balfouri and leonina in the Cape 

 Peninsula, and clavigera from sedgwioki in the Knysna. 



I am uncertain to what extent the form of the papillae of the 

 body may be utilised, but the curious clavate papillae of P. 

 clavigera appear to form a good character, not met with in any 

 other species of the genus. 



Distribution. The genus Peripatopsis is only known from the 

 Gape Colony and Natal. If we exclude capensis, it may be stated 

 generally that all the species belonging to the group with claw- 

 bearing terminal feet occur in the western half of the Cape Colony 

 between Cape Town and Graham's Town, extending as far north as 

 the Cedarbergen in Clanwilliam, while the species belonging to the 

 group in which the terminal legs are clawless inhabit Natal and the 

 eastern part of Cape Colony, the most western locality known being 

 the Katberg Forest. P. capensis, which belongs to the latter group, 

 is thj sole exception, being found in the Cape Peninsula only. 



As, however, the number of localities in which Peripatopsis has 

 been searched for is very small, the above limits must be looked 

 upon as purely provisional, and they may have to be considerably 

 modified when more forms come to light. There is little reason to 

 doubt but that this genus or others occur in most wooded mountain 

 ravines and in forests throughout South Africa. I have found it in 

 nearly every likely-looking spot which I have thoroughly examined 

 at the right season of the year. 



A synopsis of the named species with their localities is given at 

 the end of the paper. 



GEN. PEEIPATOPSIS, Pocock. 



Journ. Linn. Soc. Lond., xxiv., p. 519, 1894 (I have not seen the 



original paper). 



Type. P. capensis (Grube). 



Characters. Legs with three spinous pads ; the legs on each side 

 of the genital opening rudimentary, very much smaller than the 



