3l6 PROC. COTTESWOLD CLUB vol. xiii. (4) 



There are the following species in the genus Rhyn- 

 chelmis : — 



"RHYNCHELMIS OBTUSIROSTRIS, Menge. 



Definition: — Length, 55mm.; number of segments, 100; pros- 

 tomium obtse ; habitat, Belgium, Germany." 



"RHYNCHELMIS LIMOSELLA, Hoffmeister. 



Definition: — Length, 120mm.; number of segments, 150; body 

 more or less quadrangular; prostomium long; set?e posteriorly reduced 

 to one in each bundle ; chloragogen covering of gut commences in the 

 seventh segment; habitat, Europe." 



According to Prof. Weldon's remark (p. 310), this is 

 the species found at Cirencester. 



With regard to its habits and food, I am at present 

 unable to give any satisfactory information. The example 

 of this species which was captured in November, 1899, I 

 kept in a small aquarium in which 1 had placed a small 

 amount of decaying vegetation. There it lived in con- 

 finement for just a year; and although I frequently placed 

 it under observation I could never perceive it in the act 

 of feeding. 



As will be observed, I am indebted to Mr F. E. Beddard's 

 Monograph for the greater portion of this paper ; and I 

 have quoted from that work sufficient to show that Rhyn- 

 chelmis is a worm which has been studied with consider- 

 able attention, and has yielded important results from an 

 anatomical point of view. More details can be obtained 

 by consulting the works cited ; but for the better under- 

 standing of what has been given here I append certain 

 figures copied from Vejdovsky's work. They are given 

 in the appended Plate XVII. 



