I A 



THE ANXAI.S 



AND 



MA(1AZ[NI^] OF NATURAL HISTORY, 



[KIGHTII SERIES.] 

 No. SO. AUGUST 1014. 



XX. — Preliminary Account o/" Aspidodrilus, a remirkahle 

 Epizoic Oligochcete. By H. A. Baylis, 13. A. 



(rublislied b}' permission of the Trustee.? of the Biitidli Museum.) 



Eleven specimens of a very remarkanle little worm, collected 

 in Sierra Leone by Majir H. Krl.-^nll, U.A., were recently 

 pre.senttcl to the British Museum by the Imperial Bureau of 

 Eutomolog-y. 



According to IMajor KelsaiPs account, they were found 

 living as "external [larasites " on a large eartl. worm common 

 in the district. In the absence of specimens of the host it is 

 impossible to state at present to what genus it belongs ; but 

 as the " parasite " is of considerable interest, it is proposed 

 to give a brief account of it, leaving a more complete study 

 of it until further well-preserved material is available. 



Major Kelsall's account, as given in a letter to the Bureau 

 of Entomology, is interesting, and I quote the following 

 passage from it : — 



" Tlie worm \J. e. the host] is terrestrial, and about 12 or 

 1 J inches long, in geneial appearance very like tlie ordinary 

 laige earthworms of this country [."jc. Great Britain]. Many 

 that I noticed were infested with the small whitish parasite.s 

 (or what appeared to be parasites). I usually found the 

 worms crawling on the roads or paths, and the parasites 



Ann. ct- Mag. X. Hist. Ser. 8. Vol. xiv. 10 



