[ 4G; 



XIII. Observations on Amfralasian Poli/clach. 

 By Professor W. A. Haswell, M.A., I>.Sc., F.B.S., F.L.S. 



(Plates 35-37.) 



Eead 6th June, 1U(J7. 



JL HE Polyclads of Australasia have hitherto received very little attention. Stimpsou's 

 "Descriptions of some new Marine Invertebrates" (22), puhlislied in 1855, contains 

 diagnoses of several members of the grovip obtained in Port Jackson. Schmarda in the 

 first volume of his ' Neue wirbellose Thiere,' issued in 1839, published some observations 

 on several species from New South Wales and New Zealand. In Saville Kent's ' Great 

 Barrier Reef three species are referred to as Pseudoceros Kenfu,\\.&i^., von Graff', 

 Pseudoceros dimidiaiiis, u. sp., von Graff, and Prosthecerceus flavomaculatus, n. sp., von 

 Graif; these were apparently named by von Graff, but I am not aware that any account of 

 them has been published. Woodworth (26) described a few species from the same locality. 

 Marianne Plelm (18) described a species from New Zealand and the Chatham Islands, 

 and another from Tasmania. T. W. Kirk (10) described two New Zealand species, and 

 T. P. Cheesemau (2) two more. Lastly, Laidlaw (11) described Leptoplana austndis and 

 Sfylochus viyllax from specimens in the collection of the Britisli Museitm, and recognized 

 a specimen of Ori/ptocelides Loveni, Eergendal, labelled " Port Phillip, J. B. Wilson." 



Of Stimpson's descriptions it is impossible to make any use, and the same holds good 

 of Schmarda's. Though, presumably, the forms from Port Jackson described by these 

 authors are the same as some of those dealt with in the following pages, it is quite 

 impossible, without the ojjportunity of examining the original specimens, to attain to any 

 certainty in this direction. Thus it is quite possible that Stimpson's Dloncus budius was 

 the species here referred to as Leptoplana australis, Laidlaw, and at first I was disposed 

 to name it Leptoplana badia in order to retain the old name ; but on reconsideration I 

 came to the conclusion that it would be better to avoid any identifications of such a merely 

 conjectural kind, and to set Stimpsou's and Schmarda's names aside altogether. 



Lang's connneut on Stimpson's paper may be quoted here : — " Die Diagnosen siud alio 

 sehr kiimmerlich. Bei dem ganzlichen Fehlen der Abbildungen werden deshalb die Arteii 

 wohl kaum wieder mit Sicherlieit zu crkennen sein. Ihrc generische Zugehorigkeit 

 ist in den meisten Fallen nicht zu errathen " (17, p. 17). Of Schmarda's descriptions the 

 same author observes : — " Leider sind die anatomischen Beobachtungen iiusserst kuinmer- 

 lich und die Angabeu i'lber Pehleu odor Vorhandensein uud Stellung der Augeu, Lage 

 und Natur der OeHhuugen des Korpcrs, Form des Pharynx etc. wohl uicht ganz 

 zuverliissig ; so dass vielen der beschriebenen Arten ihre Stellung im System nicht 

 mit Sicherheit angewiesen werden kann " (op. cit. p. 19). 



I have pleasure in acknowledging assistance received from Mr. R. Etheridge, Curator 



SECOND SERIES. — ZOOLOGY, VOL. IX. G7 



