CHINESE EARTHWORMS GATES 439 



teiior by a minute pore on the tip of a tiny conical protuberance on 

 the lateral margin of the large genital marking in the spermathecal 

 chamber. 



Remarks. — One of the specimens is in a much poorer state of 

 preservation than the other. The epidermis is also damaged; the 

 setal counts on the first three postclitellar segments are incomplete. 

 The description of the internal anatomy was derived mainly from 

 tlie poorer specimen in order to keep the internal organs of the better 

 specimen in good condition for future reference. 



In the coelomic cavities of both specimens there are nematodes and 

 spheroidal, cystlike bodies. In one of the worms there are cysts 

 of anotlier sort in the esophageal, postgizzard collar. 



P. grahami is distinguished from P. vulgaris Chen, 1930, by the 

 ventral, unpaired testis sacs of x and xi, the larger size of the sper- 

 mathecal chamber, the posterior direction of the chamber, the at- 

 tachment of tlie chamber to the ventral parietes, and the single largo 

 genital marking within the chamber. 



Chen (1936, p. 299) maintains (1) that the "so-called" sperma- 

 tliecal chamber of giahami is not homologous with the "parietal in- 

 vagination of P, vulgari'i'^ and (2) that P. grahami is a synonym of 

 P. tsehUhnsis Michaelsen 1928 : 



( 1 ) The remark about homology has no significance. In P. vulgaris 

 the spermathecal pore is not in a "parietal invagination" but within 

 a spermathecal chamber (an invagination that extends through the 

 j^arietes into the coelomic cavity). In fact the term spermathecal 

 chamber was first used in Chen's original description of vulgaris, 

 Tlie confusion is due, in part at least, to Chen's failure to discriminate 

 between vulgaris (copulatory chambers and U-shaped testis sacs) 

 and P. guWelmi (Michaelsen, 1895) (male pore invaginations and 

 ventral testis sacs). 



(2) Examination of the types of fschiliensis {aide description on a 

 subsequent page) has shown that in Michaelsen's species the primary 

 sperjnathecal pores are superficial. At most the marking that bears 

 the spermathecal pore may be slightly depressed. There is no definite 

 invagination. In P. grahami., on the other hand, the primary sper- 

 mathecal pore is contained within an invagination so large that it not 

 only passes through the parietes into tlie coelomic cavity but extends 

 posteriorly on the ventral parietes well toward the septum next 

 behind. Such an imusual structure certainly distinguishes grahamn 

 from any species with superficial spermathecal pores. The copula- 

 tory chambers further distinguish grahami from fschiliensis or any 

 other species with male poi-es in invaginations restricted to the 

 parietes. 



