344 Mr. H. N. Moseley on the Structure [May 21, 



May 21, 1874. 



WILLIAM SPOTTISWOODE, M.A., Treasurer and Vice- 

 President, followed by Dr. SHARPEY, Vice-President, in 

 the Chair. 



The Presents received were laid on the table, and thanks ordered for 

 them. 



The following Papers were read : 



I. " On the Structure and Development of Peripatus capensis" 

 By H. N. MOSELEY, M. A., Naturalist to the ' Challenger' 

 Expedition. Communicated by Prof. WYVILLE THOMSON, 

 F.R.S. &c., Director of the Scientific Civilian Staff of the 

 Expedition. Received April 9, 1874. 



(Abstract.) 



The author commences by expressing his obligations to Professor 

 Thomson, who gave him assistance in some parts of his work, and every 

 encouragement in the further prosecution of it. 



Specimens of Peripatus were collected at the Cape of Good Hope 

 during the stay of H.M.S. ' Challenger ' at Simon's Bay, with a view to 

 the investigation of the development of the animal. A specimen was 

 dissected and at once seen to be provided with tracheaa, and to contain 

 far developed young. This led to as careful an examination being made as 

 time would permit, and hence the present paper. The most modern 

 paper on Peripatus is that of Grube*. Grube, after examining the ana- 

 tomy of the animal, came to the conclusion that it was hermaphrodite, and 

 placed it among the " Bristle- Worms " in a separate order, Onychophora. 

 Grube has been followed in most text-books, such as those of Claus 

 and Schmarda ; but uncertainty on the matter has been generally felt. 

 De Quatrefages f follows Gervais in placing Peripatus in affinity with the 

 Myriopods, and the result of the present investigation is to show that he 

 is not far wrong. 



The species made use of appears to be Peripatus capensis, described 

 by Grube in the Zoological Series of the ' Novara ' expedition. The 

 animal has invariably seventeen pairs of ambulatory members, a pair 

 of oral papillae, and two pairs of horny hooked jaws, shut in by tumid 

 lips. The specimens found varied in length from 1-6 to 7 centims., in 

 the contracted condition. About thirty specimens were found, all of 

 them but one at Wynberg, between Simon's Bay and Cape Town. The 

 animals appear to be somewhat local and not very abundant ; they live 

 in damp places under trees, and especially frequent rotten willow- wood. 



* Miiller's Archiv, 1853. t Hist, des Anneles. 



