DESCRIPTIONS OF EARTHWORMS. 143 



stata of Desmogaster the muscular coat appears to be more 

 developed as in Moniligaster. 



The ovary is extremely large; in the space between 

 the two confluent septa in segment XIII, it is attached to 

 the anterior of both , extending like a fringed band from 

 the dorsal to the ventral side. It consists of numerous lo- 

 bes, showing a somewhat conical shape and each furnished 

 with a couple of blood-vessels united in a loop (fig. 4). 

 The anterior side of the opposite septum bears ventrally 

 the folded oviducal funnel, dorsally the slit-like opening 

 of the receptaculum ovorum ; both are situated on a di- 

 stance from each other, but are connected by a folded 

 ridge, which I suppose is coated with cilia, along which 

 the ova are transported from the receptaculum to the fun- 

 nel. The short oviduct traverses the septum and opens 

 into the porus situated in line with seta 2. The recepta- 

 culum ovorum is rather great, though not so large as in 

 some other Moniligaster-s^QCiQB , in which it extends over 

 several segments; it has the shape of a cap and only oc- 

 cupies one segment. According to the description of Rosa 

 and Beuham the ovaries of Monilig. Beddardi and M. indi- 

 cus have a cylindrical, spirally coiled shape, and that of 

 M. japonicus is described by Michaelsen as »ein hoher 

 büschelig oder zottiger Besatz" ; none of those authors ho- 

 wever speaks of the particular division in lobes and the 

 loops of bloodvessels penetrating in them. 



In an interesting paper, dealing with the anatomy of 

 Monilig. indicus , Benham recently summarized the charac- 

 ters , by which the genus Moriiligaster is distinguished. 

 Among the ten characters enumerated by this author there 

 are two , as above referred to , which our species does not 

 possess ; viz. the oviducal pores , instead of in the inter- 

 segmental groove XI/XII , occur upon segment XIII , and 

 the nephridial pores are not situated in line with the dor- 

 sal , but with the ventral setae. Though this different po- 

 sition of the oviducal pores no doubt presents a remar- 

 quable divergence, I hesitated to base a new genus on 



Notes iroin the Leyden Museum, Vol. XVI. 



