ON A LAND PLANAEIAN FROM HULULE, MALE ATOLL, 



WITH A NOTE ON LEPTOPLANA PARDALIS LAIDLAW. 

 By Frank Fortescue Laidlaw, B.A. (Cantab.). 



A SINGLE specimen was found of a small species of Rhynchodeinus under decajing wood. 

 Its total length is about 25 mm. and breadth a little under 2 mm. 



After some hesitation I have refen-ed it to von Graff's Rhynchodemus ceylonicus', a species 

 of which a single specimen was collected by the brothers Sarasin in Ceylon. This the type 

 specimen is considerably larger than that found by Mr Gardiner (48 mm. long by 3 mm. in 

 breadth), but the colouring agi-ees fairly well, although owing to the fact that the specimen 

 under discussion has been treated with corrosive sublimate it has rather faded. 



There is a somewhat obscure median dorsal dark band and two feebly marked broader 

 lateral bands. Near the middle of the body the small bell-shaped phai-j-nx is protruded. 



No land planaiian has hitherto been recorded from any coral island in the Indian Ocean. 

 Other islands remote from continental land in this Ocean have, however, a small number of 

 inhabitants belonging to this group. Such are the Seychelles with two species of Amblyplana, 

 and Rodriguez with one species Geoplana whartoni of Gulliver, who also observed a specimen 

 of land planarian on Mauritius. The planarian fauna of these islands is considered by von 

 Graff to be derived from that of the Aetliiopian region, whilst the Maldivian species is 

 clearly derived from Ceylon where the genus Rhynchodemus is fairly abundant. 



Certain Oriental species of the genus have a wide distribution, such for example is 

 Rhynchodemus nematoides Loman, which is recorded from Ceylon and Java by von Graff in 

 his monogi-aph of the land planarians, whilst I have examined specimens from a height of 

 2500 ft. from a hill in the north-east of the Malay Peninsula. 



Species of land planarians are known to occur on at least two coral islands in the 

 Pacific. One of these is Rhynchodemus putzei v. Gr. from the Marquesas Is., the other is 

 Geoplana peleiuensis v. Gr. from the Pelew Is. 



' von Graff, Monor/raphie die Turbellaria iii. Tricladida ierricola. 



74—2 



