70 ON THE VICTORIAN LAND PLANARIANS. 



Instead, however, of swallowing the pieces they dropped them again. This 

 experiment, though but a solitary one and of course in need of confirmation, tends 

 to show that land Planarians are unpalatable to birds as well as to human beings. 



In my paper on the anatomy of Geoplana spenceri 1 have already suggested that 

 the unpalatable character of these worms may be due to the presence of the rod-like 

 bodies in the slime with which they are always covered. 



In concluding my introductory remarks I have much pleasure in expressing my 

 indebtedness to my wife for her valuable assistance in collecting specimens ; to 

 Professor W. Baldwin Spencer for numerous Planarians from various localities and 

 especially for an exceptionally interesting collection from Croajingolong, including a 

 species of Rhynchodemus, which genus is now for the first time recorded from 

 Victoria ; to Mr. H. R. Hogg, for many specimens of Planarians from Macedon and 

 for his kind hospitality and assistance whilst I was collecting in that district ; to 

 Mr. J. Bracebridge Wilson, for Planarians from the Otway Forest, and to Mr. Henry 

 Dendy, of Walhalla, for assistance in collecting in that locality. 



Description of Victorian Species. 



Genus Geoplana. 



This genus, as I have already had occasion to point out, is distinguished from 

 the only other known genus of Australian land Planarians by the presence of 

 very numerous minute, unicellular eyes, which occur principally on the lateral 

 margins of the anterior end of the body and are usually, if not always, continued 

 round the edge of the horseshoe-shaped anterior extremity. Frequently, also, the 

 eyes occur more sparsely scattered along the sides of the body to the extreme 

 posterior end. 



1. Geoplana cceriilea, Moseley sp. 



1877. Ccenoplana ccerulea, Moseley, Quarterly Journal of Microscopical 

 Science, Vol. XVII., N.S., p. 285. 



1887. Geoplana ccsrulea, Fletcher and Hamilton, Proceedings of the 

 Linnean Society of New South Wales. Series II., Vol. 2, p. 361, 

 PL v., Fig. 1. 



" Entire body of a dark Prussian blue colour, somewhat lighter on the under 

 surface of the body and with a single, narrow, mesial, dorsal, longitudinal stripe of 



