A SUMMARY OF THE EARTHWORM FAUNA OF BURMA 

 WITH DESCRIPTIONS OF FOURTEEN NEW SPECIES 



By G. E. Gates 



Judson College, Rangoon, Burma 



INTRODUCTION 



This paper is the first of a series which, it is hoped, will eventually 

 present the results of an extensive as well as comprehensive survey 

 of the terricolous oligochaete fauna of the province of Burma. There 

 are numerous climatic, geographical, and for the time being, financial 

 difficulties which prevent the orderly progress of such a survey. 

 Further papers will necessarily appear, therefore, as circumstances 

 permit, and for the immediate future at least, without reference to 

 any methodical systematic or geographical sequence. 



The writer wishes to thank for assistance given during the course 

 of preparation of the present paper the United States National 

 Museum, Harvard University, the United States Bureau of Fisheries, 

 and the Marine Laboratories at Woods Hole; and Misses McNab 

 and Carpenter for aid with illustrations 



GEOGRAPHICAL CONSIDERATIONS 



The Province of Burma lies between 8° and 28° 30' north lati- 

 tude, and between 92° 11' and 101° 91' east longitude. It includes 

 an area of approximately 240,000 square miles. The extreme length 

 is about 1,300 miles and the greatest width about 700 miles. The 

 Province is said to be composed of seven natural regions: Two 

 coastal strips, Arakan and Tenasserim; three hilly or mountainous 

 regions, the western hills, the northern hills, and the Shan Plateau; 

 and two central regions, the deltas and the dry zone. However, the 

 country is commonly thought to comprise only two distinct regions 

 which are called colloquially the " Plains " and the " Hills." (Fig. 1.) 



The first-mentioned region may be designated the Central Basin 

 region. This extends from the sea northward between the hills of 

 the Burmese-Javan arc and the Indo-Malayan mountains to the 



No. 2781.— Proceedings U. S. National Museum. Vol. 75, Art. 10 



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