NEW EARTHWORMS FROM CHINA, WITH NOTES ON 



THE SYNONYMY OF SOME CHINESE SPECIES 



OF DRAWIDA AND PHERETIMA 



By G. E. gates 

 Judson College, Rangoon, Biirina 



Seven years and more ago the author undertook a study of the 

 earthworms collected in the province of Szechuan, China, by Dr. D. C. 

 Graham for the United States National Museum. As many of the 

 Chinese species were inadequately characterized, completion of the 

 report on this study had to be delayed until the gaps in our knowledge 

 of the older forms could be filled out. In the meantime further col- 

 lections made by Dr. Graham necessitated numerous changes in the 

 earlier manuscript. Just recently opportunities have arisen to examine 

 the types of many important species. As the types of the few remain- 

 ing species are not likely to be available for examination in the im- 

 mediate future, the report was brought to completion. As publica- 

 tion of the full report may be delayed for some time, owing to finan- 

 cial conditions, it seems desirable to publish diagnoses of the new 

 species together with short notes on the changes in the synonymy. 

 Full descriptions of the types of the new species, together with some 

 •account of the examinations of the older types, as well as explana- 

 tions of the changes in the synonymy will be included in the definitive 

 report. 



In connection with a few of the species the opportunity has been 

 taken to include brief remarks on a very recent paper by Chen (1933), 

 published after the writer's longer paper was completed. 



DRAWIDA Michaelsen 



The clitellum, in this genus, appears to be a rather evanescent struc- 

 ture, often absent in most, If not all, of the specimens submitted to 

 the systematist for examination, and possibly present or recognizable 

 externally during only a small portion of the year. In these circum- 

 stances many of the species in this genus have been erected on aclitel- 

 late specimens. 



Unfortunately, some of the types have been so juvenile that dis- 

 tinguishing specific characteristics are entirely unrecognizable, and 



Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, Vol. 93, No. 3 



