PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS. 323 
that all the species of the European genera thus collected 
in Southern lands are identical with the European species 
indicates their alien origin and recent importation. And 
we know that species of several other genera are capable of 
establishing themselves as aliens far from their native soil. 
Thus, Pheretima (Pericheta) hawayana (Rosa), originally 
collected in Hawaii, has been found in Borneo, China, 
Mauritius, Bermudas, Barbadoes, Teneriffe, and Brazil ; 
while Ph. heterocheta (Mich.) is practically cosmopoli- 
tan: There is reason to believe that the “home” of both 
these species is the Oriental region. 
Further, Hudrilus eugenie (Kinb.), having its home in 
Equatorial West Africa, has been met with all over the 
Tropics—in Central America, Antilles. Bermudas, British 
and Dutch Guiana—as well as in St. Helena, Madagascar, 
Ceylon, New Caledonia, and New Zealand. 
Pontoscolex corethrurus (Fr. Mill.) has been met with in 
Mexico, Antilles, and South America, as far south as Brazil ; 
also in Madagascar, Mauritius, Ceylon, Simgapore, Sumatra, 
Nias, Borneo, Java, Celebes, Ternate, Sangir, Hawaii, 
Queensland, and New Zealand. It has been carried from 
its home in Tropical America to the ends of the world. 
Benhamia bolavi (Mich.), whose home is Tropical Africa, 
occurs also in Mexico, various islands of the West Indies, in 
South America, Madagascar, India, and even in Hamburg. 
Microscolex dubius (Fletcher), originally discovered in 
Australia, where it has been met with in several spots, 
occurs also in Tasmania, New Zealand, Norfolk Island, Port 
Elizabeth (in South Africa), the Canary Islands, Bahamas, 
various parts of South America, and in North Carolina. 
M. phosphoreus (Dugés) was described from specimens 
found in France, but it occurs in Chili, Patagonia, South 
America, South Africa, Teneriffe, Sardinia, and various 
parts of Europe. There is little doubt but that the home. 
of these two species is the American continent. 
Again, Megascolex mauritu (Kinb.) is now known, not 
only in Mauritius and Seychelles, but in North-West Mada- 
gascar, Zanzibar, China, India, and various islands of the 
Malay Archipelago. There is little doubt that its home is 
the Oriental region. 
And there are several other species capable of establishing 
themselves in foreign lands. 
Now, when we find a species at a locality far distant from 
the habitat of the rest of the genus, which genus has an 
otherwise limited and well-defined area of distribution, we 
are entitled to regard it as accidentally imported by man’s 
