134 SPOLIA ZEYLANICA. 



(2) A Leech Parasitic on the Hard-Shelled Pond-Tortoise of 

 Ceylon {Nicoria* irijuga subsp. thermalis). 



In the course of her work on the blood-parasites of Ceylon reptiles 

 Miss Muriel Robertson discovered on the soft parts of pond-tortoises 

 a pecuUar httle leech which she at first assigned to the genus Branchel- 

 lion (" SpohaZeylanica," Vol. V., p. 178, 1908). Mr. W. A. Harding, 

 however, later described it under the name Ozohranchus shipleyi 

 (Proc. Cambridge Phil. Soc, XV., p. 233, 1909), and it is by this 

 name that it is referred to in Miss Robertson's fuller paper in Vol. LV. 

 of the Quart. Joum. Micro. Sci., in which she gives some interesting 

 information about the habits both of the parasite and of its host, as 

 well as a detailed description of the Hsematozoon {Hcemogregarina 

 nicorice), apparently conveyed by the leech from tortoise to tortoise. 

 So far as is known, the leech is only found on the one form of tortoise, 

 the blood of which it sucks ; it was very abimdant on that form in 

 the lake at Kandy in October, 1911. In life the anterior part of the 

 leech is narrow and pointed, the smgle pair of minute black eyes 

 being easily detected near the extremity of the body. The posterior 

 part, which is distinctly broader, bears the tufted lateral gills that 

 are a characteristic feature of the genus. The whole animal is 

 translucent and appears at first sight to be colourless, except for a 

 dark brownish tinge due to blood contained in the ahmentary canal. 

 Examination with a pocket-lens shows, however, that, in spite of 

 the translucency of the tissues, the dorsal surface is of a dull yellow 

 delicately veined, especially at the sides of the body, with dark 

 green. The posterior sucker, which is very large and maintains an 

 extremely tight grip, is minutely speckled with the same shade ; the 

 gills are quite colourless and almost transparent. Miss Robertson 

 states that the gills are kept in constant motion. This was not the 

 case with individuals which were attempting to escape from a tube 

 of clear water in which they had been placed after being removed 

 from the leech. All that I could observe, apart from the movements 

 of the body as a whole, was an occasional faint trembling of the gills 

 in nowise rhythmical or concerted. 



(3) A Rare Ceylon Lizard {Lepidodactylus ceylonensis). 



This lizard is recorded in the " Fauna " and the British Museum 

 " Catalogue " only from Gampola, which is situated in the hill- 

 country not very far from Kandy (alt. 1,600-1,700 feet). A 

 specimen was taken by Mr. Green and myself at Peradeniya. L. 

 ceylonensis is not, however, peculiar to Ceylon, for the Indian 

 Museum possesses specimens from Lower Burma ; Mr. Boulenger 



records it from Java, Engano Island, and Pegu ( Am. Mus. 



Geneva, XIIL (XXXIII.), p. 316), and it also occurs in the Malay 



* Siebenrock, in his recent revision of the Chelonia (Zool. Jahrb., 1909, 

 Supplement) , calls this genus Geoemyda , on grounds that are technically correct. 



