Art. IV. — The Hatching of a PeripaUis Egg. 

 By Arthur Dendy, D.Sc. 



[Eead 13th April, 1893.] 



In Nature for 17th September, 1891, I briefly described some 

 eggs of the larger Victorian Feripattcs, which were laid by speci- 

 mens kept alive by me in the winter (Australian) of 1891. At 

 that time, following previous authority, I identified the species 

 which laid the eggs as F. leuckartii. It appears now, however, 

 that the real P. leuckartii, at any rate in New South Wales, is 

 undoubtedly viviparous, and our oviparous Victorian species is 

 therefore probably distinct. It may be remembered that in Nature 

 for 14th February, 1889, I suggested this probable distinction on 

 account of the remarkable pattern of the skin usually exhibited 

 by the fifteen-legged Victorian form. Further particulars on this 

 subject are given in my "Further Notes on the Oviparity of the 

 larger Victorian Feripatus, generally known as P. leuckartii" * 

 and in the literature cited thei'ein. In that paper I also described 

 two embryos removed from eggs which had been laid for about three 

 and eight months respectively. In the latter case I showed that 

 the embryo was possessed of the full number of appendages and 

 was in all respects a perfect young Feripatus, differing externally 

 from the adult only in the smaller size and less deeply pigmented 

 skin. On the strength of those observations I claimed to have 

 definitely proved that the larger Victorian Feripatus at any 

 rate sometimes lays eggs, and that these eggs are capable of 

 undergoing development outside the body until perfect young 

 animals are produced. I am now able to add some further 

 information. 



For some time only one egg (belonging to the original lot, for 

 none have since been obtained) remained in the hatching-box. 

 The shell of this egg had changed to a dark brownish colour, and 

 latterly an embryo had been visible through the shell, coiled up 



'Proceedings of the Eoyal Society of Victoria, vol. v., p. 27. (Also publisheil in the 

 Annals and Magazine of Natural History, 1892). 



