1004 NOTES ON AUSTRALIAN EARTHWORMS, 



the number of setae on the first few setigerous segments they are 

 not a very satisfactory lot to deal with ; but for the sake of the 

 interest attaching to the questions of variation and geographical 

 distribution, the attempt is here made to deal with them. 



The majority of them agree with Pericliceta Macleayi described 

 in my last paper in having (1) the preclitellar or a few more seg- 

 ments with 20 set^e per segment, increasing then to 24, and still 

 further back to about 28-30 ; (2) the buccal ring nearly com- 

 pletely divided by the prostomium ; (3) two pairs of spermathecal 

 pores opposite the second or third setse, or the interval between 

 them ; (4) both pre- and postclitellar accessar}?- copulatory struc- 

 tures ; (5) calcifei'ous dilatations in some of segments ix or x-xiii, 

 but pouches are not pinched off;* and (6) the same general cha- 

 lacters of the genitalia, e.g., two pairs of vesiculse seminales in 

 IX and XII, and two pairs of spermathecae each of them with a 

 single long club-shaped caecum. Besides size they differ among 

 themselves slightly in regard (1) to the number and character of 

 the accessory copulatory structures ; the situation of (2) the first 

 dorsal pore aud (3) the spermathecal pores which in some are more 

 nearly opposite the second, in others opposite the third setae. They 

 are accordingly treated as three varieties, noted separately from 

 each locality. The remainder in which the number of setae is 

 slio-htly greater, probably normally 24 setae on the anterior seti- 

 gerous segments, are similarly treated as a variety of P. fecunda 

 with two pairs of spermathecae. 



P. Macleayi, F1., [Ic. (2) iii, (1888), p. 1556], vars. nov. 



Var a : — Thirteen specimens 60-67 mm. long, 3-4 mm. broad ; 

 number of segments from about 110-125. 



Setse : the first thirteen setigerous segments (ii-xiv or there- 

 abouts) with twenty setae to a segment [frequently only fewer 

 are visible, often 16 or still fewer; nevertheless as 10 may 

 often be counted on one side of a given segment, or a seg- 



* " The two pairs of calciferous pouches in xi-xii " {I.e., p. 1557) are so 

 incompletely pinched off as to be little more than dilatations. 



