Oa an Aiistralkui Land Nemertine 105 



portion of the cell is highly granular, and at the other end is 

 a deep pit or excavation, in the bottom of which the daiiie- 

 like undulating structure {ji.) is inserted. 



I was able to observe the moveuieuts of the "flame" for a 

 considerable time, until they gradually slackened and then 

 ceased. They were extremely beaiitiful and characteristic, 

 consisting of a series of undulations passing from base to 

 apex in i-apid succession and causing the "flame" to exhibit 

 alternate light and dark ban.ds whicli travelled rapidly along 

 it and at first sight conveyed the impression of successive 

 bubbles ot gas escaping from the end of a tube under water. 



Probably the flame is made up of a bundle of long cilia, 

 but I could not satisfy myself on this i)oint, although faint 

 indications of longitudinal striations were visible in it. 



This cell, I have no doubt, formed the terminatioti of a 

 branch of the system of intra-cellular tubules described above, 

 but 1 could not ti'ace this system in the living animal owing 

 to the thickness of the specimen and the opacity of the 

 tissues, and it was only by good luck that I found a flame- 

 cell at all in a cruslied p)ej)aration. As far as I am aware 

 flame-cells have never hitherto been observed in Nemertines 

 except perhaps in the American fresh water species, Tetras- 

 temma aqiiarum dulcmm, described by Silliman.* As far 

 as I can gather from that author's description, flame-cells 

 appear to be present, at any rate there are structures whicli 

 he calls " Flimmer-lappchen " at the ends of narrow branches 

 of the excretory system, but the description of the excietory 

 sj^stem is very meagre and unaccompanied by illustrations. 

 As the excretory system of this species appears to agree 

 more closely with that of our Gecmemevtes than that of any 

 other known Nemertine, I may perhajis be allowed to 

 quote it in this place foi" the sake of comparison : — " Das 

 Was serge fasssystem dieser Art ist sehr leicht zu veifolgen. 



Es scheinen in der Kegel zwei selbstandige 



Langsstannne vorhanden zu sein, die sich unter der Leibes- 

 wand reichlich verzweigen, besonrlers iin Kopftheile und 

 auf dem Riissel. Die Ausmiindungsporen liegen auf der 

 ventralen Flache gegen die Mitte der Korperlange. Die 

 Bewegung der Fliissigkeit wird von den Klimmerlap|)chen, 

 die in dem ervveiterten Ende der kapillaren Zweige sich 

 finden, ei-halten." It seems to me very piobable that the 

 " Langsstamme" here mentioned maybe homologous with 



• Zeitschrit't far wissenscbaftliche Zoologie, Vol. 41, 1885, p. 70. 



