I9I0. Friend. — Luminous Worms iji Ireland. 107 



To further this end I am glad to be able to say that Micros- 

 colex or an allied genus is indigenous to Great Britain, 

 and that there is reason to believe that we have more than one 

 species in these Islands. This curious annelid is not easy to 

 find, and I have reasons for thinking that it has often been 

 mistaken for the young of certain species of AUolobophora. 

 May I appeal to my Irish fellow-workers to seek for and send 

 me specimens ? For their guidance I may say one word 

 respecting the appearance of the worm and its probable 

 habitats. 



Microscolex is a worm of slender build, but of considerable 

 length; say 2 mm. in diameter, and two to four inches long. 

 It is of a fleshy colour, with rich supplies of blood, and vessels 

 which can be easily seen. The girdle may be absent, but is 

 found usually between the 12th and 20th segments, i.e.^ very 

 much nearer the head than in any of our ordinary earthworms. 



It is said to have been found in the garden and on the lawn 

 of a house in Worcester ; but it is possible that the worm w^as 

 then away from its usual haunts. I have always found it in, 

 under, or near water. It may be taken along wilh Allurus, 

 from which it may be instantly distinguished by the fact that 

 Allurus is short, stout, and quadrangular. If the runnels 

 which feed the lakes and bogs are examined, the worms may 

 be found among the gritty detritus which is being washed 

 down from the higher levels. I have found the worm in 

 considerable numbers in little streamlets on hill-sides, as well 

 as in the loamy soil by the sides of ponds andpools.^ I should 

 be exceedingly grateful for specimens of worms taken in such 

 localities, as well as for a few s^m^\Q.soi Lumbriais papillosziSy 

 Fr. {L. Friendi, Cognetti), which has never yet been taken in 

 England. 

 St. Asaph, Great Malvern. 



1 Siuce this article was written three months ago a second species of 

 worm, of the kind here described, has been found in streamlets and pools 

 in Cornwall. Its girdle extends from the fourteenth to the twenty-third 

 segment, or thereabouts, but the worm is several inches in length. This 

 shows that we have not yet by any means exhausted our fauna. It may 

 be added that Hoffmeister's Helodrilus, described in 1845, appears to be 

 related to these worms, and was not a true Lumbricid. Much, clearly, 

 remains to be done before the monograph which I am preparing for the 

 Ray Society can be completed. 



A 2 



