president's address — SECTION D, 83 



Vermes. 



Members of three groups of the latter have been described, 

 viz., Turbellaria, Nemertea, and Oligochaeta. 



The Turbellaria are well represented in Victoria and 

 New South Wales. The only published account of a Tas- 

 manian form is that of Geoplana tasmaniana which was 

 noted by Darwin and is the earliest described land planarian 

 of the Australasian region. In the latter three genera are 

 now known, viz., (reoplana, Rhynchodenius and Cotyloplann, 

 of which the latter is confined to Lord Howe Island. 



Moseley, Fletcher, Hamilton, and Dendy have principally 

 described the hitherto obtained Australian forms. In New 

 South Wales eleven species of Geoplana are described, and 

 in Victoria 26. Of these four species only are common to 

 the two colonies. Of RliyncJiodemus New South Wales has 

 six species, Victoria two and Tasmania none. Dr. Dendy 

 has been kind enough to inform me that he has in his collec- 

 tion four as yet unrecorded forms of Geoplana from Tasmania. 

 Three of these are merely varieties of Victorian forms ; one is 

 identical with a Victorian species and on King Island I col- 

 lected two more species identical with Victorian ones. That 

 is, of seven species six may be regarded as common to 

 the two. Whilst our knowledge is thus as yet small we 

 have a clear indication of a close alliance between Victoria 

 and Tasmania. The distinction between Victoria and New 

 South Wales, on the other hand, is very clearly marked, 

 though a priori, owing to land connection, we might have 

 expected to have found a close alliance existing between 

 the two former rather than between Victoria and Tasmania. 

 There is little doubt but that Queensland forms are related to 

 those of New South Wales and thus in the land planarians, 

 as we shall find to be the case in other groups, the dividing- 

 range which runs from east to west across Victoria separates 

 a group of northern from a group of southern forms. 



In the Nemertea land forms are of rare occurrence. 

 Those yet known are placed in the genus Geonemertes, which 

 has one species commonly found in Victoria (^6r, aastruliensis.) 

 From Tasmania and New South Wales Fletcher has de- 

 scribed single specimens which are at most, if not identical 

 with, merely varietal forms of the Victorian species.* 



* Since Mriting- the above I have found tour more .specimens in Tasmaiya V^^ '^'. - ' 

 which are undoubtedly identical with the Victorian species. ' "" ' 



