174 IDENTITY OF THE AUSTRALIAN PERIPATUS, 



quarto volume containing the paper bears the date 1870 on the 

 title page, but 1871 on the paper cover. Leuckart's first mention 

 of it was founded on a preliminary notice or abstract in the 

 "ProtocoUen der Mosk. Naturforscherversamml." He says: 

 "Verf. untersuchte zwei Arten, den P. capensis, Gr., und eine 

 neue schon vor mehreren Jahren vom Ref. in diesen Berichten 

 erwahnte neuhollandische Art, die A^om Yerf. als P. Leuckarti 

 bezeichnet wird."* Acting on the hint given in this passage I 

 looked through the earlier volumes of the Archiv seriatim until I 

 found the introductory notice, to which reference has been made. 



On the publication of the ]3aper itself Leuckart added his oft- 

 quoted second notice,! giving the brief resume of the characters 

 of the species which has hitherto had to serve as the only avail- 

 able guide to the contents thereof. Leuckart says : " Die neue 

 Art, die aus Neu-Holland stammt, wird folgendermaassen 

 beschrieben : Fiinfzehn Paar Fussstumel, von denen das letzte 

 Paar die Geschlechtsoffnung zwischen sich nimmt. Auf der 

 iTnterseite der Piisse drei Erhebungen, von denen die eine lang 

 und bogenformig ist, wahrend die zwei andern kurz und gerade 

 sind. Lange 21 mm., grosste Breite 3*05 mm." 



This, it will be seen presently, is substantially a translation of 

 the short summary which Sanger added at the end of his des- 

 cription, and from the description itself it is evident that the 15 

 pairs were intended to include the oral papillae, though beyond 

 the exceptional use of the suggestive term " Fussstumel " instead 

 of Leuckart's more usual expressions " Beinpaaren " or " Paar 

 Beinen," no intimation of this is given in the summary or the 

 translation. When the context is not left out of account the 

 summary is quite satisfactory; wholly detached there from it is 

 not free from ambiguity. When Peripatus was rediscovered in 

 Australia, and all the specimens forthcoming for some time were 

 found to possess 15 pairs of walking legs, a wrong interpretation 

 was put on the expression "15 Paar Fussstumel" of Leuckart's 



*Aich. f. N. XXXV. Jahrg. ii. Bd. 1869, p. 277. 

 tic. xxxvii., ii. Bd., 1871, p. 407. 



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