Alie7i Oliffochsets in England. By Rev. H. Friend. 



153 



wanting, their place being taken by a pair of veutrally-disposed 

 cesophageal glands. This species, moreover, possesses no gizzard. 



A further marked peculiarity is the absence of nephridia from 

 the 11th and 14th segments. Beddard says of the type, that "The 

 nephridia are present in the genital segments ; the posterior set are 

 invested by a thick layer of peritoneal cells." 



Altogether, the negative characters are important and instruc- 

 tive, and it would be helpful if in future those who described new 

 species drew attention to these points. 



Internal Characters. — As the sexual organs are of prime import- 

 ance, it will be well if we study them first. It will then be 

 possible to pass on to the other features of interest. 



The sperynathccie are paired, and open (in harmony with the 



Fig. 5. 



type) in the intersegments 7/8 and 8/9. They occur in segments 

 8 and 9, are destitute of diverticula and glands, and lie unattached 

 in the coelom. Though the worms were found in England, it was 

 quite clear that the processes of reproduction were going on, for 

 the spermathec8e were packed with spermatozoa. The twist of 

 segments and the angle at which the sections were cut made it at 

 first somewhat difficult to determine the exact shape of these 

 organs. The illustration (fig. 3) is based on the study of a complete 

 series of sections. 



The spermiducal orifices are on the ventral surface of segments 

 17 and 19, the papillae being inconspicuous. As is the case with 

 the type, so here " the glandular tube is lined by a single layer 

 only of cells." In this respect the genus agrees with typical 

 Ocnerodrilus. The tubes or ducts go back at least as far as seg- 

 ment 21, beyond which my longitudinal sections do not carry me. 



