Earthworm from Ecuador. 241 



l)cl()\v the [)liarynx (as in 11. Guliehnus) ; wlieii it readies the 

 level of sniDite iii. it rises upwards along the sides of" this 

 ])ortioii of the g-ut, jiasses between the two lobes of the 

 " salivary glands," and continuing (lig. 2, p.n.d.) forwards 

 enters theuiuscuhir wall near the junction of the pharynx wA 

 buccal region; into the latter the nephridiuni probably 

 opens. 



In the previous species a simihir "■ peptonepliridium " is 

 present; but it opens externally in the second {li. GuUelmus) 

 or third somite {LI. Tenhdei). I searched carefully for any 

 pore on somites ii. and iii., but found none ; and it is compa- 

 ratively easy, despite the small size of the worm, to trace the 

 duet along the course I have just indicated. 



^^'hen removetl from the body tlie peptonepliridium is seen 

 to be composed of a densely coiled tubule, the course of 

 which would be very difficult to follow; it is provided vvitli 

 a funnel of rather larger size than the following ones. The 

 sui'face of the pejitonephridium is covered with a close net- 

 work of blood-vessels. 



I am not quite certain as to the segment to which the 

 fumiel belongs ; but at any rate it will be seen that this 

 nephridiuni, like the following, has a considerable length, 

 passing from about the level of the second to that of the 

 eighth somite, and recalls the enlarged thoracic nephridia of 

 many of the tubicolous Polychajta. 



The second nephridium (fig. 2, ?i.") opens externally on 

 somite iv. ; the long duet passes backwards, alongside the 

 pharynx, to reach the convoluted tube at the side of the ante- 

 rior part of the oesophagus. The following nephridial aper- 

 tures are regularly arranged, and the ducts of the nephridia 

 extend backwards in a similar way ; they are all quite easily 

 followed from their pores to the coiled tubule, and it is the 

 latter which it is important to note particularly. 



The coil of the third nephridium is at the side of the 

 oesophagus, behind the second nephridium, that of the fourth 

 still fuither back, in front of the gizzard; the coil of the 

 fifth nephridium (fig. 2, «.') lies on the upper surface of the 

 (jizzard near its hinder end ; and since this nephridium belonos 

 to somite vii., the gizzard evidently belongs to the same 

 somite, although thrust back into the following somites. The 

 coils of the sixth and seventh nephridia are close together, 

 immediately behind the gizzard^ by the side of the '' lateral 

 hearts." The eighth nephridium belonging to somite x. has 

 its coiled tubule immediately in front of, and very closely 

 applied to, the sac which contains the first pair of ciliated 

 rosettes, whicii thus belongs to somite xi. The ninth nepliri- 



