CAMFOKNiA Ei'i>i;ir,ri>.i:. 41 



ARGILOPHILUS. 



Ar(/i/np/ii/ns Eiscii, Zoc iv, '2r)2, October, 1893. 



Prosldiniiiiii ciicidMcIifs (III somite i. l*]ii;lit sctic in Iniir couples, ventral, 

 laU'iiil ami dorsal, coiiiiiu'iiciiii;' in somite ii. The seta' ol the inner couple nol con- 

 vergiiii;' luwanls the male pore, hut closer set than the setic ol' the outer couple, 'i'lie 

 alimentary canal consi.sts of an eversil)le huccal cavity, a pharynx, (V'sophagus, gi/zard, 

 tuhnlar intestine, sacculated intestine, typhlosole, hut no lesophageal glands or pouches, 

 ('litelliiiii not develoj)ed venti'allv, occupies somites xiii toxviii. 



Siiermathecal pores, one pair vii viii and one pair viii/ix. Ovipores in xiv- 

 Male pore in xviii. One or two rows of ventral intcu-segmeiital papilhe. Two pair 

 of spermatheca'. Testes in x, xi. Sperm-sacs paired in x, xi, xii, generally enclos- 

 ing the ciliated funnels and testes, 'i'wo pair of ciliated funnels. Two pair of sperm- 

 ducts, which join a pairof very large, tuhnlar-coiled prostatesin xviii, at the upper end 

 of the muscular duct. Two peiiial sctie open in the same pore, but not in the same 

 duct as the pro-statc. 



Dorsal vessel and vential vessels connected by o pair of hearts in xiv to x. No. 

 subneural vessel. Blood red. Many l)lood vessels on the nephridia. No pepto-nephri- 

 dia. The nephridio-pores variable as to location, the majority open in front of or lateral 

 to the 4th setiP, though many o]ien interior to the 4th setie. No cfjecal bladder at the 

 exterior pore. Large earthworms with thick round bodies, of pale flesh color, mar- 

 bled bluish. 



T)ldributifin nncl hahifat. The genus Argilophiliis appears to be an undoubted 

 native of the Pacific C*oast. Specimens have been found in the San Joaquin Valley 

 in California, and as far north as British Columbia (Vancouver Island). In California 

 these worms are our most common earth worms, a[)pearing close to the surface with 

 tlie advent of the rains in the autumn and disappearing deep in the soil with the dry 

 weather in INIay, after which time they are not any more found in even locally moist 

 places. During the summer months I have sometimes dug up these worms from a 

 depth of 5 to (i feet or more, each worm tightly rolled up as a little ball and appear- 

 ently encysted in a chamber of clay, the inner surface of which is smooth and hard. 

 In these cysts the worms pass the dry season. These worms are hardly ever found 

 outside of heavy adobe or clayey soil; the more clayey the soil, the better the worms 

 appear to thrive, provided also the soil is rich and fertile. In poor soil the worms are 

 seldom seen, and the best indorsement for a soil is that it contains worms of this genus- 



The color of the worms of this genus is fleshy pink, thickly marbled, with steel 

 or slate gray, (fig. 132). The clitellum is yellowish red, and the whole anterior part 

 is pinkish. The color of these worms is very handsome and distinguishes them from 

 the deep brown Allolobophora so common in moist or swampy places in this State. 



Exterior chai-acierlstics (figs. 125-131). The most prominent extei'ior feature 

 of this genus is the color which has just been described. Another is the frequent 

 eversion of the lining of the buccal sac (fig. 130). As to size the worm must be 



