PACIFIC COAST OLIGOCH^TA. 67 



the oesophagal epithelium neither being furnished with ducts nor storage pockets (fig. 

 18). 



The suprapharyngeal glands are posteriorly connected with the septal glands, 

 not only with the nearest pair, but with all the pairs in the respective somites. In 

 Ocnerodiilns Beddardi I called the attention to this fact, but I was not able to point 

 ont the connection between all the glands, which connection, however, I do not doubt 

 really exists in all genera of this family, and probably in most other Oligoclueta. 



Septal glands{{\g. 2). As regards these glands our present species offers no great 

 peculiarities different from species of Ocnerodrilus generally. There are four pair which 

 surround the oesophagus in the usual way in somites v, vi, vii and viii. The glands are 

 considerably lobed (fig. 1-2), and decrease in size posteriorly. That is, the pair in v 

 is by far the largest, the one in vi is smaller and so on, the one in viii being much the 

 smallest. This gradual decrease in size posteriorly, though the most common one in 

 this class of Oligochjeta, does, however, not always exist in all species. I have one 

 species yet undescribed from Guatemala in which all the glands are of the same size. 

 In our present species the glands are distinctly paired, but they lie so close together that 

 that thej'^ appear in each somite as one single gland surrounding the intestine. In 

 sections the glands are seen to be abundantly supplied with blood sinsues or larger 

 vessels. 



These septal glands (fig. 2), connect one and all with the suprapharyngeal 

 gland, being, so to say, superposed on several main longitudinal muscular bands con- 

 necting the pharyngeal glands with the body-wall in somite ix. Wide and narrow 

 ducts follow these muscles, causing the secretions of the septal glands not to empty in 

 the alimentary canal in the respective somites in the glands, but in the phalangeal 

 cavity as shown in fig. 18. 



Fig. 2 is, as far as outlines are concerned, a correct representation of these 

 glands from a section lateral to the oesophagus. Most details, however, are not filled 

 out. The glands on the upper side are those above the oesophagus, the lower row 

 again those below the oesophagus, both opening on the upper side of the pharynx. 



The seire occur in couples of two, as usual, the distance between setse 1 and 1 

 being about the same as the distance between 2 and 2. The shape is the usual sigmoid 

 one found in Ocnerodrilus, and the size is rather large. The free points are slightly 

 corrugated. The setse occur in all somites after the first, but there are never any devel- 

 oped setfB where should be the inner couples in xvii. Very small undeveloped tips 

 may sometimes be seen close to and lateral to the male pore enclosed in the reserve 

 bag, but even thej' are not always present. 



The blood vessels agree in all respects with those of Ocnerodrilus. There are 

 two pair of hearts, one each in x and xi and one pair of connecting vessels in ix. 



Nephridia are found in all the somites except the first few anterior ones. In 

 somites iii to v the nephridia are very small and dwarfed, but from there 

 on posteriorly they increase in size. Those in front of the clitellum are not fur- 



