Benham. — Some Earthworms from the North Island. 281 



Art. XVIII. — Some Earthworms from the North Island of New 



Zealand. 



By W. B. Benham, D.Sc, M.A., F.Z.S., Professor of Biology 

 in the University of Otago. 



[Read before the Otaijo Institute, 13th September, 1904.] 



Plate XI. 



All the earthworms, with two exceptions,* that have hitherto 

 been ascribed with certainty to New Zealand have, as a matter 

 of fact, been collected in the South Island, and chiefly from 

 Canterbury and Otago ; but during the last year or two I have 

 received numerous specimens from various localities in the North 

 Island, and in the early months of the present year I received 

 from Mr. Elsdon Best a collection of worms made at Ruatahuna, 

 the interest in which is enhanced by the fact that several of the 

 species were in former times used as an article of diet by the 

 Maoris, and are referred to under their Maori names in his article 

 "The Food-products of Tuhoeland" in these Transactions. f I 

 gladly take this opportunity of thanking Mr. Best for his kind- 

 ness in taking the trouble, at my request, to collect, preserve, 

 and forward to me these extremely interesting species ; for not 

 only is this the first occasion in which earthworms have been 

 recorded as being eaten by man of any race, but, from a 

 zoological point of view, they introduce us to a family of earth- 

 worms hitherto scarcely represented in New Zealand. To Mr. 

 Charles Cooper, of Auckland, my thanks are also due, for it was 

 at his suggestion that I put myself into communication with 

 Mr. Best, whose article I had not at that time read, and was 

 therefore ignorant of the fact that the Maori esteemed the 

 earthworm as an article of diet. To several other correspond- 

 ents I herewith offer thanks for forwarding to me specimens, 

 including Captain Hutton, Professor H. B. Kirk, and Mr. H. 

 Suter. 



I have already written a detailed account of these new species, 

 and have sent it to the Zoological Society for publication^ ; 

 nevertheless it seems desirable to place on record in these 

 Transactions all new species of animals described from New 

 Zealand, even if a certain amount of duplication of articles 



* These two exceptions are Maoridrilus plumbeus and Microscolex 

 monticola. both described by Beddard, from Mount Pirongea, near 

 Auckland. 



t Trans. N.Z. Inst,, xxxv., p. 45. 



t Proc. Zool. Soc, 1904. 



