172 The Irish Naturalist, September, 



difficult to make out. These consist of two solid leaf-like 

 lobes, surrounded at the base by a lobed collar ; the whole 

 being covered with ver}- active cilia. This species can be 

 studied microscopically with ease whilst in the living condi- 

 tion, and the accompanying figures are all drawn from living 

 specimens. 



The epidermis is covered with faint rings of a pale, golden- 

 brown, granular pigment (fig. 5). At intervals along these 

 rings are flat, inconspicuous, oval glands or papillae. 

 Some of these papillae are granular, others are partly 

 granular and partly clear. The body-cavity is full of liquid, 

 in which are suspended numerous corpuscles. These are 

 round, flat, and thin. Some of them are clear, some granular, 

 and they are in a constant state of active movement, passing 

 along the bod}^ to the tip of the proboscis and back again in 

 regular order. Numerous developing ova are also freely 

 suspended in the ccelomic fluid. 



The structure of the alimentary canal agrees with Kefer- 

 stein's figures, except in one point. At the junction of the 

 oesophagus with the intestine there is a bulbous swelling 

 (fig. I rt.) which is not mentioned by Keferstein. The intes- 

 tine, which is only slightl)' folded, is not attached at its base. 

 The retractor muscles (fig. i b) are attached to the body-wall in 

 the posterior third of the bod3^ At the base of the retractor 

 is the ovary (fig. i f., fig. 4). It was ver}^ easil}' seen in some 

 specimens. As the ova mature, the}^ drop into the ccelomic 

 cavity, and probably reach the exterior through the nephridia, 

 which is the usual method. In no case, however, were eggs 

 found in the nephridia. All the specimens examined were 

 females. 



The nerve-cord can be clearly seen (fig. i^.) running along 

 the body-wall near the retractor muscles. It gives off nume- 

 rous branches to the muscles and to the alimentary canal. 



The '* brow^n bodies," or nephridia (fig. i e^ fig. 3) are 

 two in number. Keferstein gives little information as to their 

 structure. The external pores (fig. 3 a) are situated later- 

 ally just behind the anus. The length of the nephridium is 

 about half that of the trunk. Just behind the external open- 

 ing is the ciliated funnel (fig. 3 b) which opens into the 

 ccelomic cavity. It is bounded by three pointed lobes, 



