Ceylon and the Philippine Islands. 95 



species, according to Perrier, is 150 millim. or 6 inches in 

 length. 



The body of the worm is somewhat flattened from above 

 downwards, and is of a greenish colour and very translucent, 

 so much so that even in the alcohol-preserved specimens the 

 nervous system, the ventral blood-vessel, and in places the 

 segmental organs were quite visible from the outside. 



I was unable to discover any traces of a clitellum, and 

 inasmuch as the generative organs appeared to be well deve- 

 loped, the absence of this structure can hardly be accounted 

 for by presuming the specimens to be immature. It is at 

 least a curious fact that not a single one of twenty specimens 

 had any trace of clitellum ; it would be obviously hasty to 

 insist upon the absence of a clitellum so generally found in 

 earthworms until there is some more definite proof; but, as 

 already stated, Perrier was unable to find any clitellum in a 

 single example of M. Deshayesi examined by him, and the 

 coincidence is remarkable. 



The only apertures that I could detect upon the surface of 

 the body besides the mouth and anus were two oval slit-like 

 orifices with tumid yellowish lips, which are the male genera- 

 tive orifices, and are situated between segments 9 and 10 between 

 the ventral and dorsal pairs of setee. The setge are disposed 

 precisely as in M. Deshayesi^ viz. in four series of pairs ; the 

 set^ of each pair are very closely approximated. In the 

 disposition of the oesophagus this new species agrees in the 

 main with M. Deshayesi ; in one specimen at any rate there 

 were four oval nacreous-looking dilatations of the oesophagus 

 close to its junction with the intestine ; the anterior gizzard 

 of M. Deshayesi of the sixth segment appears to be absent in 

 this specimen. 



There are well-developed nephridia in all the segments of 

 the body. 



Generative Organs. — The ovaries and their ducts I have 

 been entirely unable to discover. 



The testes are present to the number of a single pair of large 

 oval compact glands, situated in the 9th segment. The 

 relation of the vas deferens to the testes will be apparent from 

 the accompanying figure (fig. 4) ; it is a thin, delicate, much 

 coiled tube which expands when it reaches the testis and 

 appears to become continuous with its covering. I did not 

 succeed in detecting any funnel-like expansion separate from the 

 testis. The vas deferens {v.d.) passes down towards the ventral 

 side of the segment, and its termination on the boundary line 

 between the 9th and 10th segments is furnished with a small 

 oval gland (p) which corresponds to the prostate gland of other 



