CHINESE EARTHWORMS — CxATES 417 



the supraesopha^eal and the ventrolateral vessels. These extra com- 

 missures are filled with blood and more readily visible than the empty 

 commissures of ix connecting the dorsal and ventral trunks. 



The single testis sac of x includes, in addition to the male funnels, 

 testes and testicular material, the segmental portions of the esopha- 

 gus, and the dorsal blood vessel, as well as the hearts of x. The 

 sheet of tissue forming the boundary of the sac is attached anteriorly 

 to 9/10 close to the esophagus at least dorsally and laterally. The 

 wall of the sac is bulged out laterally on each side to a considerable 

 extent by the testicular material. When the worm is first opened 

 these lateral bulges look like a pair of fairly well developed seminal 

 vesicles. The single testis sac of xi is either U-shaped or annular and 

 is attached to 10/11 only close to the esophagus. The two dorsal 

 limbs of a U-shaped sac may be symmetrical, the dorsal blood vessel 

 between the ends of the limbs or one limb may be longer than the 

 other, in which case the segmental portion of the dorsal blood vessel 

 is within the longer limb. The annular testis sac is formed, pre- 

 sumably, by the fusion of the dorsal ends of the limbs of a U-shaped 

 sac. 



The seminal vesicles of xi are within the testis sac of the seg- 

 ment and are rather small. In some cases a small but definite, 

 columnar, primary ampulla can be recognized. The vesicles of xii 

 are larger than those of xi and usually asymmetrical. The larger 

 vesicle, that of the left side, may extend posteriorly into contact 

 with the prostate. The right vesicle may extend over onto the left 

 side of xii as well as penetrating into xiii, or it may be confined 

 to xii. 



The prostates are broken up into a number of elongate finger- 

 like lobes, and these lobes are not as a rule compacted into a solid 

 mass. The prostatic duct is 5-6 mm in length, the middle portion 

 thickest and bent into a C-shape. Just ectal and just ental to the 

 C-portion there may be a tiny quirk or loop. "Within the parietes 

 the prostatic duct is widened to form a small bulbous body. 



The spermathecae are small. The spermathecal duct is nearly as 

 long as, or slightly longer than, the ampulla and is narrowed only 

 very slightly within the parietes. The diverticulum is longer than 

 the combined lengths of duct and ampulla and passes into the 

 median face of the duct just below the ampulla. A very short 

 ectal portion of the diverticulum is slenderly tubular, smooth, and 

 glistening; the remaining portion of the diverticulum widened 

 slightly, bent back and forth in a regailarly but shortly zigzagged 

 fashion, the successive limbs of the loops in contact and all in 

 the same plane. 



