364 ARTHUR DENDY. 



the structure of the female oi'gaus. Tlie subject is one upon 

 wliicli I have been engaged at intervals for more than twelve 

 years, and our knowledge of which for various i-easons has 

 progressed very slowly. Owing in part, at any rate, to an 

 unfortunate confusion in nomenclature, for which I can 

 scarcely hold myself entirely responsible, my earlier observa- 

 tions were at first met with scepticism' and hostile criticism, 

 (Fletcher, 6) and the scarcity of material and difficult nature 

 of the investigation were equally discouraging. The recent 

 discovery of a new egg-laying species in New Zealand has, 

 however, stimulated further inquiry', and though I cannot 

 even now make the work anything like complete, I think 

 the time has come when a general account of the subject with 

 the necessary illustrations may be found useful. As previous 

 observations on these species have been published in scattered 

 periodicals, I prefix to this memoir a short historical notice. 



In December, 1888, 1 found two specimens of Peripatus in 

 a fern-tree gully at Warburton, on the Upper Yarra, Victoriji. 

 These specimens I described in a letter to 'Nature' (1), pub- 

 lished on February 14th, 1889.^ Peripatus had previously 

 been known from Victoria only by a single specimen 

 discovered at Warragul by Mr. R. T. Baker, and exhibited 

 by Mr. J. J. Fletcher at a meeting of the Linnasan Society of 

 New South Wales on July 27th, 1887. Mr. Fletcher (1) 

 considered the specimen to be " in all probability an example 

 of P. Leuckartii, Sanger." Owing, howevei', to the 

 peculiar coloui"-markings of the Warburton specimens, I came 

 to the conclusion that these belonged to a new species, which 

 I, however, refrained from naming. 



In reply to my letter to ' Nature ' Mr. Sedgwick (3) wrote 

 to the same journal (February 28th, 1889), and expressed 

 a doubt as to the distinctness of the Victorian species. 



The examination of additional specimens unfortunately 



' Compare Sedgwick (4, p. 10). " All species are viviparous. It has 

 lately been stated that one of tlie Australian species is normally oviparous, but 

 this has not been proved." 



2 Also in 'The Victorian Naturalist,' January, 18 9 



