376 ARTHUK. DENDY. 



pronouncing both 0. oviparus and 0. viridimaculatus to 



be genuinely oviparous, and, by analogy, 0. in sign is may 

 pretty safely be included in the same category. As, how- 

 ever, the eggs have not yet been actually observed in the 

 case of the latter species, it will be as well to reserve our 

 final judgment in this case, and the following remarks, of 

 course, apply only to the two former. 



In the case of O. oviparus, I have already (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 

 11, 12, 15) entered pretty fully into the question of the egg- 

 laying habit ; some years ago eggs were laid by this species 

 in my vivarium at Melbourne, one of which, after an extra- 

 ordinarily long period of development (seventeen months), 

 finally hatched out. In the case of 0. viridimaculatus, 

 only one deposited egg has yet been observed, and that was 

 found by me last autumn in rotten wood in which a specimen 

 of 0. viridimaculatus had been packed for transmission, 

 the animal itself having unfortunately died on the journey. 



Equally strong evidence is afforded by the fact that no 

 specimen of either species has yet been found to contain 

 recognisably developed embryos, while nearly all the females 

 that have been dissected have contained large thick-shelled 

 eggs. In other species, such as P. Ijeuckartii (the common 

 New South Wales species), as is well known, the adult 

 females invariably contain developing embryos enclosed only 

 in very thin transparent membranes. 



The idea that the deposition of the eggs by Ooperipatus 

 is merely an abnormal phenomenon, such as occasionally occurs 

 in Peripatus, has been practically refuted by Steel (1), who 

 observes of P. Leuckartii (New South Wales) that ^' pregnant 

 females somewhat readily extrude the young when distressed 

 by close confinement or uncomfortable conditions. Frequently 

 soft adventitious eggs are laid. These bear no resemblance 

 to those described by Dendy from P. oviparus, but are 

 quite smooth and have a very flaccid thin envelope. They 

 very soon break up into a drop of turbid liquid. My supposi- 

 tion is that they are merely ova which have escaped fertilisa- 

 tion, and are thus making their natural exit from the body." 



