JOURNAL 



OF THE 



ROYAL MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY. 



JUNE, 1912. 



TRANSACTIONS OF THE SOCIETY. 



V. — British Tuhificidie. 

 By Rev. Hilderic Feiend, F.L.S., F.R.M.S. 



{Read December 20, 1911. ♦) 



In his splendid Monograph of the Order Oligochffita, Beddard 

 remarks respecting this family that wliat is wanted is a careful 

 study of the living worms by one naturalist who is able to devote 

 a good deal of time to what is, after all, a very small matter 

 (p. 229). And again, living material is essential for the proper 

 description of these Tubificids (p. 251). The more one studies them 

 the more does one feel the truth of these remarks. After all that 

 has been done, the group is still very little known, and the con- 

 fusion is extreme. I am able, however, as the result of long and 

 careful study .of living material, gathered from every part of the 

 country, to throw a little light on some of the problems, and add 

 somewhat to our knowledge of the Tubificids of Great Britain. 



*o^ 



I.— Historical Sketch. 



The year 1865 saw the publication of a Catalogue of the British 

 Non-parasitical Worms in the British Museum, compiled by Dr. 

 G. Johnston. On turning to page 64 et seq. we find reference to 

 three species of worms known as Sienuris (Hoffmeister, 1843), and 

 a species of Clitellio (Savigny). The first of these is named S^nuris 

 tuhifcx, which has many possible aliases, is said to be found plenti- 

 fully in the mud of the River Thames, and to be common in shallow 



* N.B. — Since this paper was written in the autumn of 1911, much advance has 

 been made in the study. A valuable Memoir by Pointner (Zeitschr. wiss. Zool., 

 xcviii. pp. 626-76, with 3 figures in the text and 2 plates) had not then come to 

 hand, but I have drawn attention to some of the most interesting points in revis- 

 ing the proofs. — H. F. 



June 19th, 1912 U 



