CALIFORNIA EUDRILIDJE. 41 



ARGILOPHILUS. 



Ari/iiupJu/ns Eist'ii, Zoc iv, '152, October, 1(893. 



Prostomium encroaches on somite i. Eight sctic in t'onr couples, ventral, 

 lateral and dorsal, eomniencing in somite ii. The seta' ot the inner couple not con- 

 verging towards tile male p(ire, Imt cloifier set tlian the seta' of the outer couple. The 

 alimentary canal consists of an eversible buccal cavity, a pharynx, cesophagns, gizzard, 

 tubular intestine, sacculated intestine, typhlosole, but no (esophageal glands or [inuches. 

 Clitellum not developed ventrally, occupies somites xiii to xviii. 



Sperraathecal pores, one pair vii /viii and one pair viii/ix. Ovipores in xiv- 

 Male pore in xviii. One or two rows of ventral intersegmental [)apilhe. Two pair 

 of spermatheca'. Testes in x, xi. Sperm-sacs paired in x, xi, xii, generally enclos- 

 ing the ciliated funnels and testes. Two pair of ciliated funnels. Two pair of sperm- 

 ducts, which join a pair of very large, tubular-coiled prostates in xviii, at the upper end 

 of the muscular duct. Two penial setie open in the same pore, but not in the same 

 duct as the prostate. 



Dorsal vessel and ventral vessels connected by 5 pair of hearts in xiv to x. No. 

 subneural vessel. Blood red. Many blood vessels on the nei)Iiridia. No pepto-nephri- 

 dia. The nephridio-pores variable as to location, the majority o})en in front of or lateral 

 to the 4th setfe, though many open interior to the 4th seta^. No coecal bladder at the 

 exterior pore. Large earthworms with thick round bodies, of jiale flesli color, mar- 

 bled bluish. 



iJistrihutionand habitat. Tlie genus Argilojihilns appears to be an undoubted 

 native of the Pacific Coast. Specimens have been found in the San Joaquin Valley 

 in California, and as far north as J5ritish Columbia (Vancouver Island). In California 

 these worms are our most common earth worms, appearing close to the surface with 

 the advent of the rains in the autumn and disappearing deej) in the s((il with the dry 

 weather in May, after which time they are not any more found in even locally moist 

 places. During the summer months I have sometimes dug up these worms from a 

 depth of 5 to 6 feet or more, each worm tightly rolled up as a little ball and appear- 

 ently encysted in a chamber of clay, the inner surface of which is smooth and hard. 

 In these cysts the worms pass the dry season. These worms are hardly ever found 

 outside of heavy adobe or clayey soil; the more clayey the soil, the better the worms 

 appear to thrive, provided also the soil is rich and fertile. In poor soil the worms are 

 seldom seen, and the best indorsement for a soil is that it contains worms of this genus- 



The color of the worms of this genus is fleshy pink, thickly marbled, with steel 

 or slate gray, (fig. 132). The clitellum is yellowish red, and the whole anterior part 

 is pinkish. The color of these worms is veiy handsome and distinguishes them from 

 the deep brown Allolobophora so common in moist or swampy places in this State. 



Exterior characteristics (figs. 125-131). The most prominent exterior feature 

 of this genus is the color which has just been described. Another is the frequent 

 eversiou of the lining of the buccal sac (fig. 180). As to size the worm must be 



