572 NOTES ON AUSTRALIAN EARTHWORMS, 



The alimentary canal comprises a short muscular pharynx, a short 

 oesophagus, a large muscular gizzard in v, which pushes back the 

 mesentery behind it so as to lie partly in vi ; the small intestine 

 extends from vi to xvii, has no special vascular pouches, but 

 especially in xiii or xiv to xvi presents globular swellings with 

 thick vascular walls, internally provided with longitudinal rugae ; 

 the sacculated large intestine commences in xvm, continues to the 

 end of the body, and is unprovided with caeca. 



The genitalia include, two pairs of small racemose testes in 

 segments ix and xn ; the posterior pair the larger, lying on each 

 side of the intestine and attached to the posterior face of the 

 mesentery between xi and xn ; those of the anterior pair further 

 apart, just behind the posterior spermathecae, attached partly to 

 the anterior face of the mesentery between ix and x ; two 

 vasa deferentia opening anteriorly with two pairs of ciliated 

 rosettes lying free in x and xi, just in front of the posterior 

 mesenteries of these segments ; a pair of prostates in xviii 

 and part of xix, tabulated, with a shore thick prostatic duct 

 arising from the smaller lobe, not coiled, gradually increasing in 

 calibre ; two pairs of spernrathecae in segments viii and ix, more or 

 less pyriform, opening anteriorly by a short duct from which arise 

 two or sometimes three short and rudimentary caeca ; a pair of 

 ovaries in xiii in the usual position • a pair of oviducts in xiv, 

 passing through the mesentery between xiii and xiv opening 

 anteriorly into the former by ciliated expanded mouths. I have 

 been unable to determine under what circumstances the vasa 

 deferentia join the prostatic ducts. The accessory glands appear as 

 two or more white elevations lying on either side of the nerve 

 cord, with the free portion of the prostate lying between them. 



Segments vn to xn contain transverse hearts, the relations of 

 which require further investigation. 



The segmental organs consist of dendriform masses or tufts of 

 glandular caecal tubes. They are most conspicuous in the anterior 

 segments as far back as about xviii, after which they are much less 

 conspicuous. They are most noticeable along a line about 2 mm. 



