NO. 2263. 2fEW AFRICAN EARTHWORMS— SMITH AND OREEN. 



151 





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have the relations of the sperm sacs (samensacken) of ordinary 

 earthworms and would correspond fully with these organs if the 

 spermiducal funnels were distinct 

 from the sac-bearing part of the 

 septa, and this part of each sep- 

 tum with its sacs were evaginated 

 into the following somite, thus 

 giving rise to a partially multi- 

 chambered sac. The contents of 

 these small sacs are almost exclu- 

 sively sperm cells which are nearly 

 or quite mature. 



A pair of extensive sperm sacs 

 communicating with the sperm 

 vesicles, extend dorsally and pos- 

 teriorly to about the twentieth 

 somite and contain masses of de- 

 veloping sperm cells and are in- 

 cluded within the anterior part 

 of corresponding ovisacs (fig. 6). 

 The relations of these sperm sacs 

 are much the same as is found in 

 certain limicoline worms among the 

 Naididae, Tubificidae, and Lum- 

 briculidae. We have here a rather remarkable assemblage of sperm- 

 storing chambers suggesting relationships with various groups of 



Oligochaeta. The suppression 

 of the sperm vesicles and of the 

 small sacs associated with the 

 spermiducal funnels would give 

 a limicoline condition. The 

 suppression of the pair of 

 dorsal sperm sacs and a some- 

 what further development of 

 the small sacs of the septal 

 walls would give conditions 

 similar to those in one genus 

 of Lumbricidae, numerous 

 Glossoscolecidae, and in many 

 Megascolecidae. A still fur- 

 ther suppression of the sperm 

 vesicles would result in a con- 

 dition similar to that of many 

 other earthworms, including 

 some of the more primitive Megascolecidae and many Lumbricidae. 



Fig. 5.— Syngenodrilus lamuensis. Longi. 

 tudinal section reconstructed from sev- 

 eral sections passing through the sper- 

 miducal funnel and related sperm sacs 

 OF SOMITE 11. X115. sc, Sperm cells; sdf, 



SPERMIDUCAL FUNNEL) S S, SMALL SPERM SACS; 

 ( V, SPERM VESICLE. 



4-X ^ 







^ 



^Z^^^ 







v^ 



Fig. 6.— Syngenodrilus lamuensis. Longitudi- 

 nal SECTION THROUGH THE DORSAL SPERM SAC 

 AND THE OVISAC OF ONE SIDE. X3o. d S S, DOR 

 SAL SPERM SAC; 0, OVA; OS, OVISAC. 



