194 A VIVIPAROUS AUSTRALIAN PERIPATUS, 



opened ; altogether there must have been at least 200 born, for 

 after a number had died I counted 124 on Feb. 12th, and these 

 just what I could see without routing out the cracks and crannies 

 of the pieces of wood. A period of typical sweltering Sydney 

 summer heat set in unfavourable alike to adults and young ; the 

 mortality began to increase, and a number of the adults began to 

 develop white bladdery swellings about the head ; and as I saw 

 there was little use in trying to keep them much longer, I took 

 steps to preserve the adults, and a sufficient number of the young, 

 the others being liberated in the bush-house. Of a number of 

 adults which were drowned, one extruded four embryos nearly at 

 the full period, one extruded two, and three others extruded one 

 each on February 11th; of the last lot five females were chosen at 

 random and opened, and the oviducts and uteri displayed but not 

 otherwise interfei-ed with ; in one case these contained neither ova 

 nor embryos ; in the other four they were simply crammed with 

 embryos, the pigmented tentacles of the oldest showing plainly 

 through the membranes and the uterine wall after being a little 

 while in spirit. A representative selection of the above was 

 exhibited at the Meeting of this Society in February last. 



Such then are some very simple facts about the mode of repro- 

 duction of the JSTew South Wales Peripatus which has never been 

 called otherwise than P. leuckartii. As facts about a Peripatus 

 which, like all extra- Australian species is viviparous, they are in 

 no way remarkable except that they are entirely and irreconcilably 

 out of harmony with Dr. Dendy's very widely circulated and 

 positive statements about the oviparity, not of the Victorian 

 Peripatus, but of the common 30-legged Australian Peripatus 

 known hitherto as P. leuckartii, Sang. In view of these simple 

 facts ; in view also of the simple fact that of the first two small 

 batches of Peripatus which I had a share in finding, one specimen 

 was found on dissection to be pregnant, another brought forth her 

 young in due course, and a third in the process of being drowned 

 extruded five advanced embryos — all before Dr. Dendy had ever 

 seen an Australian Peripatus ; and also in view of the also equally 

 simple fact that on July 31st, 1891 — as well as up to and includ- 

 ing December 31st of the same year — Di\ Dendy had never seen 



