Benham. — Oligochaeta from Kermodec hi and*. 185 



Helodrilus (Bimastus) constrictus Rosa. 



This is a worm of small size, about 1 in. in length. Pinkish in life. 

 " Common everywhere — in forest, on damp ground ; under dead nikau- 

 palm leaves and tree-fern fronds." It is numbered by Oliver 29. 



Hab.— (a.) " Under dead nikau-palm leaves," Exhibition Hill (16/10/08). 

 Number, 29. There are fourteen specimens, all under 25 mm. in length, 

 with the clitellum about midway along the body. Many are immature. 

 (b.) '"From rotten food, Denham Bay" (17/6/08). Eight immature forms, 

 from 6mm. to 16mm. (c.) '"Under leaves, forest terrace" (1/7/08). 

 Numbered 3 in Oliver's list of stations or gatherings. Twenty -two 

 specimens, some of which are immature, from 12 mm. to 30 mm. in length. 

 (d.) "Under leaves, Denham Bay" (13/6/08)." Number, 20. Colour 

 pinkish. Three specimens immature. 



Bibliography. 



1. Benham. Proc. Zool. Soc, 1903, vol. 2, p. 202. 



2. Benham. Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. 37, p. 285, 1905. 



3. Benham. Records Austral. Museum, vi, 1907, p. 251. 



4. Benham. " Subantarctic Islands of New Zealand: Oligochaeta.'' 1909, 



p. 251. 



5. Beddard. Proc. Roy. Phys. Soc, 1893, p. 4. 



6. Bretscher. Rev. Suisse Zool., 1900. 



7. Eisen. '" Enchytraeidae of North-west Coast of North America " 



(Harriman Alaska Expedition), 1905. 



8. Goodrich. Q.J. Micr. Sci., 1895, p. 37. 



9. Michaelsen. Deutsche Sud-polar Exped. : Oligochaeta . 



10. Michaelsen. Oligochaeta (Das Tierreich), 1900. 



11. Michaelsen. Geograph. Verbreit. Oligochaet., 1903. 



12. Michaelsen. Fauna Sud-west Austral., Oligochaeta, 1907. 



13. Moore. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci., Philadelphia, 1905. 



14. Smith. Bull. Illinois State Lab. Nat, Hist,, v, 1900. 



15. Ude. Zeit. f. Wiss. Zool., 1895, vol. 41. 



Art. XXIII. — A Remarkable Case of Bifurcation in Lumbricus rubellus. 



By W. B. Bexham, D.Sc, F.R.S. 



[Read before the Otago Institute^lst December, 1914.^ 



I. Early in the ^present year I received from Mr. James Jefterys a 

 specimen of Lumbricus rubellus (an introduced European earthworm) which 

 bears on its right side a short narrow branch or outgrowth. 



The worm is adult, in that the clitellum is well developed, and the 

 peculiarity about this particular example of what is not a very rare occur- 

 rence is that the branch is developed in this clitellar region. This anterior 

 situation of the bifurcation is, so far as I can gather, unique, as it is usually 

 much farther back. 



The clitellum commences on the 27th segment, and occupies seven 

 segments. The first of these segments is distinct from the 2nd over the 



