TRACHEATA 309 
gland is a persistent portion of the original coelom, and the 
ducts are in all probability modified nephridia, which open 
into this portion of the coelom. The ova and spermatozoa 
are formed from cells lining the coelom, as is so commonly the 
case in the Coelomata. A small portion of the coelom also 
persists as a vesicle or swollen termination to the nephridia, 
which therefore correspond in their relations with the nephridia 
of other animals, and are tubes opening from the coelom to 
the exterior. Nephridia have not yet been described in many 
of the Arthropods, so that, although their presence in Pevi- 
patus is extremely interesting, the details of their relationship 
are not so important for the elucidation of Arthropod structure 
as are the origin of the body-cavity, heart, and generative 
organs ; and if we may assume that these latter organs arise 
in other Arthropods in essentially the same way as they do 
in Peripatus, we shall have an explanation of some of the most 
difficult problems of Arthropod morphology. 
Specimens of Peripatus capensis are found beneath stones and 
bark, especially amongst rotten wood, on the slopes of Table 
Mountain. They are animals which avoid the light, and 
require moist surroundings. They move slowly, testing the 
ground with their antennae, which are very sensitive; the 
body is borne above the ground by the numerous legs. When 
irritated, they can expel their slime, which is very sticky, to 
a distance of almost a foot. They are carnivorous, their food 
consisting of small insects, etc. The female will produce from 
thirty to forty young, which are born in the spring, and may 
be seen at this time of year crawling over the body of their 
mother. 
