THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 151 



emptied the jar, and you may imagine my disgust when I found 

 the yellow and brown ones all right, but every one of the forty 

 blue Planarians had disappeared. Of course, they had found out 

 the little hole at the top, and when I looked more closely I could 

 see that there was a slight aperture between the stopper and the 

 edge of the jar, but it really was very slight. The curious thing 

 was that all the blue Planarians should take advantage of this, 

 and that not one of the others should. Is it possible that their 

 language should differ so much that they could not explain to 

 their yellow brethren, or was it that class distinctions are so 

 rigidly carried out in Planarian society that they would not 

 tell them, but meanly left them to their fate ? 



Whilst looking for these curious animals, that seem to partake 

 of the different natures of the worm, the leech, and the snail, I 

 was always guided in my search by the presence or absence of 

 dead beetles, cockroaches, or even woodlice. If the empty shells 

 of these should be present so surely would I find Planarians. It 

 is curious to think that a soft, slimy-looking animal, such as a 

 Planarian is, should prey on such well-protected insects as beetles, 

 but so it is. The Planarian, crawling about in the dark, comes 

 in contact with a sleeping beetle ; it covers the insect with a 

 peculiar sticky slime, which exudes from its outer covering, and 

 then clasping itself round its victim, with its mouth (which is 

 situated about the centre of the under surface of the body) 

 opposite some cleft in the armour of the beetle, it protrudes the 

 sucker-like pharynx through the mouth-like opening, and plunging 

 it into the victim's body slowly sucks out all its juices. Before I 

 leave the Planarian I should like to give an account of my ex- 

 perience as to their habitat as a guide to any of our members who 

 may visit this district for the purpose of collecting them, (i) 

 The blue Planarian, under large logs, in the full face of the sun 

 and on the tops of the hills. (2) The yellow Planarian, in shady 

 situations, such as on trams facing the south, either under small 

 stones or, if early in the morning, crawling over stones and earth. 

 (3) The brown Planarian, in damp situations, deserted trams 

 facing the south, or even next the bed of the creek, under stones 

 or logs. Note that the sun must fall upon the spot some time in 

 the day. 



Besides worms, frogs, lizards, and Planarians, I was fortunate 

 enough to discover a Peripatus, also a number of Nemertine 

 worms, and I am quite sure that if it had been a damp season I 

 could have gathered any quantity of natural history specimens in 

 this favoured locality. 



The following were the lizards obtained : — Agamidae — Amphib- 

 obirus angulifer, Gray. Scincidse — Hinulia Quoyii, D. and B. ; 

 Liolepisma Guichenoti, D. and B. ; L. mustelinum, O'S. ; Siaphoa 

 Maccoyi, L. and F. 



