Art IV. — Observations on the AustraUan Species of 

 Peripatus. 



By Arthur Dendy, M. Sc, F.L.S. 



[Read July 11, 1889.] 



Part I. — Historical — Habitat — Specific Characters — 

 Variation in External Characters. 



In the January number of the Victorian Katiivalid, and 

 also in Nature for February 14, 1889, I published a short 

 account of the discovery of two specimens of Peripatus 

 at Warburton, on the Upper Yarra, which presented external 

 colour markings so well pronounced, and so diti'erent from 

 what had usually been described in the only known 

 Australian species, P. leiickartii, that I considered the 

 two specimens as probably belonging to a new species. 

 Mr. Sedgwick, in response to my letter, published a note in 

 Nature (February 28, 1889), in which he expressed the 

 opinion tliat the species probably was subject to considerable 

 range of variation in colour. Since the publication of my 

 first account, I have been in correspondence on the subject 

 with Mr. Fletcher, who is well acquainted with the New 

 South Wales specimens t)f Peripatus, and who most kindly 

 sent me a specimen from his collection, and also copies — 

 some in advance of publication — of his own notes on the 

 subject. Mr. Fletcher also tells me, in a letter dated Februaiy 

 22, 1889, that " the New South Wales specimens of Perip)atus 

 undoubtedly present very considerable variation in colour 

 and markings, and this is true of specimens from the same 

 locality, whereas specimens from different localities can be 

 very fairly matched." This remark is based upon the 

 examination of a specimen sent by Mr. OllifF to Mr. Sedgwick, 

 a specimen in the Australian Museum, and nine specimens 

 in Mr. Fletcher's own collection, which were all that were 

 known at the time he wrote. 



A few weeks ago, my friends, Mr. Edward Nye and 

 Mr. D. Avery, of Queen's College, Melbourne University, 

 discovered, after much patient searching, eleven specimens 

 of Peripatus at Brown Hill, in the vicinity of Ballarat, 



