2j6 The bish NaHcralist. [September. 



Placocephalus kewensis (Mos.*) 



(Fig. I.) 



This species, which is better kuown uuder the name of Bipalinm 

 kewense^ was first discovered in the greenhouses at the Botanic Gardens 

 of Kew, near London, in 1S78. It grows to over a foot in length, though 

 those I have seen have never exceeded 6 inches or about 15 cm. The 

 anterior end is a semicircular flat disc much like the shape of a cheese- 

 cutter, while the body is narrower and ver)^ elongated. The colour 

 is somewhat variable, but as a rule it is greyish above with five darker 

 longitudinal stripes, and lighter underneath. 



Since its original discover)^ it has been taken according to von Graff, 

 in several conservatories in Kngland and Germany. It has also been 

 found in Madeira, at the Cape, in North America. Brazil, Hong Kong, 

 Samoa Islands, Australia, and New Zealand. 



It has been first found in Ireland bj' Major Barton in his greenhouse 

 at Straffan, Co. Kildare {Irish Nat., vol. iii., p. 242). More recently 

 Mr. Moore took it in the Glasnevin Botanic Gardens near Dublin {Irish 

 Nat.y vol. iv., p. 165), and he has since forwarded specimens from there 

 to the Museum from time to time. Prof, von Graff (p. 272) inclines to 

 the belief that the Oriental Region is the original home of P. kewensis, 

 and that it has thence been introduced by human agency to other parts 

 of the world. He also refers the centre of origin of the Bipaliidae, 

 p. 272)— the family to which this species belongs — to the Indo-malayau 

 sub-region, five-.sixth of the known vSpecies being confined to the Oriental 

 Region. 



Rhynchodemus tcrrestris (Miill.) 



(Fig. 2.) 



This was the first land Plauarian ever discovered, though by its 

 original describer, O. F. Midler, it was taken for a slug. This is however 

 not surprising, as even to the present day many who see it for the first 

 time would certainly classify it among the Mollusca. It is about an 

 inch long, the anterior and posterior ends being cylindrical, the middle 

 part slightly compressed. Above it is dark gre}', underneath light grey, 

 and during its progress it leaves a track of slime behind precisely like a 

 slug. It probably feeds upon snails — at an}' rate I once found a specimen 

 in Switzerland half immersed in the shell of a Hyalinia. 



I first observed it in Ireland in 1S94, when the late Miss Kelsall brought 

 me a specimen from Blackrock, Co. Dublin (vide N'ature^ vol. 1., p. 617). 

 Since that 3'ear I have taken it near Carlow, at Woodford and Clonbrock, 

 Co. Galway, at Kenmare and Parknasilla, Co. Kerry, at Mallow, Co. 

 Cork, near Dundalk, Co. Louth, and at Tempo. Co. Fermanagh, while 

 Mr. Halbert took a specimen at Brittas Bay, Co. Wicklow, and another 

 at Leenane, Co. Galway, for the Royal Irish Academy Fauna and Flora 

 Committee. The little worm prefers damp and shady places, and 

 generally shelters under stones or rotten wood. 



In England it seems widely distributed. It was first taken by the Rev. 

 L. Jenyns, near Cambridge. Additional localities are given by Sir John 



