Mr F. E. Becldard on a New Ncmatoicl Worm. 229 



as deal with matters of local interest, are precisely the papers 

 for our Society. 



I do not make these remarks ex cathedra in any spirit of 

 assumed superior wisdom to the rest of my fellow members, 

 but simply as one friend talks to another over a matter in 

 which both are interested. We are all interested in the 

 honour and welfare of our Society, and, as regards the past 

 session, I think that, on the whole, we have fair reason 

 for congratulating ourselves. 



The roll of members at present musters : — 



Ordinary Fellows, 

 Non-resident Fellows, 

 Corresponding Fellows, 

 Honorary Fellows, 



XIX. On a New Nematoid Worm. By Frank E. Beddard, 

 M.A. Oxon., F.E.S.E., Naturalist to the " Challenger " 

 Expedition Commission. [Plate IV.] 



(Read 20th December 1882.) 



The Nematoid which forms the subject of this communi- 

 cation was found in tolerable abundance in the perivis- 

 ceral cavity of a large earthworm from Ceylon, which was 

 described by me in a paper read before the Eoyal Society 

 of Edinburgh in April 1882. Two specimens only, which 

 fortunately turned out to be a male and a female, were 

 preserved ; they were stained in picrocarmine, and mounted 

 on a slide in glycerine. 



Both specimens are as nearly as possible of the same size 

 — about \ inch in length ; the body terminates in a long 

 tail, which, in the female at least, is about a quarter of the 

 entire length of the animal. Just at the commencement of 

 the tail, and posterior to the anus, there are in the female 

 two large suckers (Fig. 1) of equal size, and situated on 

 opposite sides of the body ; they are not, however, arranged 

 symmetrically, one being considerably anterior to the other. 

 These do not appear to be present in the male, but I cannot 



