THE PLANKTON 
THE SOUTH AFRICAN SEAS. 
BY 
Per CEM ME. 
—_—— 
IL-—VERMES. 
A. Annelida. 
Tomopteris (? onisciformis), Escholz. 
West Coast: Lion’s Head, N. 63° E., 34 miles, 62 metres (34 
fath.) 19.iv.1900, rare. 
Agulhas Bank: From Cape Infanta to Mossel Bay 55 to 75 
metres (21-42 fath.), very abundant in the months of June, July 
and October. 
REMaARKS.—As the value of the characteristics upon which a 
number of “species” of Tomopteris (as T. helgolandica, 
T. quadricornis, T. vitrina, T. scolopendra) have been founded 
- is very questionable (compare Carpenter and Claparéde, T. Lin. 
Soc., Lond., xxiii., p. 59, 1860, and Fowler Proc. Zool. Soc., 
Lond., 1897, p. 523) I dare not decide whether the South African 
Tomopteris is identical with or different from the North Atlantic 
form. Compared with specimens from the Skagerak, the 
African specimens are more delicate and smaller (largest speci- 
mens with developed tail, 1 centimetre only; the Skagerak 
specimens attain the length of 2 centimetres). As far as I can 
see all specimens from the South African seas belonged to one 
and the same species. 
Geogr. Disty.—Tomopteris onisciformis has been found on the 
northern hemisphere in the English Channel (Intern. Coopera- 
tion), W. of England (Hornell), Arran (Carpenter and Clapa- 
rede), Farce Channel (Fowler), Firth of Forth (Henderson), 
Northern North Sea (various authors), Dogger Bank (Mébits), 
Skagerak and Kattegat (various authors). 
