202 FRANK E. BEDDARD. 
more southerly districts. The forms from the east have been 
mainly described by Dr. Michaelsen!; those from the western 
side of the continent by myself.? It has been shown by these 
investigations that, as a rule, the east and west of tropical 
Africa are inhabited by different genera, and always by differ- 
ent species. It also appears that, on the whole, the number of 
worms belonging to this family is greater on the east coast 
than on the west. 
The peculiar interest attaching to this group of Oligocheta, 
independently of their distribution, concerns the structure of 
the reproductive organs; in most of the members of the group 
there are no spermatothece homologous with those of other 
Oligocheta ; the place of these organs is taken by cclomic 
sacs which acquire an opening to the exterior; rarely are there 
true spermatothecz in addition to these coelomic sacs ; when 
such spermatothece are present they are partially or entirely 
enclosed by the sacs in question. In the more specialised 
members of the family the ovaries are also enclosed in sacs 
which communicate with the egg sacs and sometimes also with 
the spermatothecal sac. The Eudrilide, in fact, are an alto- 
gether remarkable family of Oligocheta, and it is desirable 
that our knowledge of them should be perfected. I am there- 
fore glad to be able to contribute towards that end by the 
following account of a number of new forms collected in 
Zanzibar and Mombasa. I was enabled to acquire this mate- 
rial through the liberality of the Government Grant Committee 
of the Royal Society, who awarded me £100, with which I 
paid the costs of a collector; I was so fortunate as to secure 
the assistance of Mr. Frank Finn, to whom I am indebted for 
the careful way in which he carried out my instructions in the 
matter of preservation, &c. 
1 « Beschreibung der von Herrn Dr. F. Stuhlmann im Miirdungs gebict 
des Sambesi gesammelten Terricolen,” ‘J. B. Hamb. wiss. Anat.,’ vii. 
‘Beschreibung der von Herrn Dr. F. Stuhlmann auf Sansibar und dem 
gegeniiberliegenden Festlande gesammelten Terricolen,” ibid., ix. 
7 “On the Structure of Two New Genera of Harthworms, &c.,” ‘ Quart. 
Journ. Mier. Sci.,’ vol. xxxii. ‘‘On the Structure of an Karthworm allied to 
Nemertodrilus, &c.,’’ ibid. 
