SOLOMON ISLANDS, THE NEW HEBRIDES, AND THE LOYALTY ISLANDS. 183 



I found myself obliged to abandon the task of attempting to distinguish these 

 small Benhamias. One species from Lifu is a slender form with clitellum extending 

 over segments XIII — XX with ornamented penial setae, a single oviducal pore and the 

 usual internal characters. It is about 30 — 35 mm. long and appears to have no 

 genital papillae. It is difficult to differentiate from or to identify with other small 

 species. 



There were many specimens of Pontodrilus from the Isle of Pines in the Loyalty 

 group. 



It is clear therefore, that, as far as our present knowledge goes, the prevailing 

 earthworm genus of this part of the world is Perichaeta. Out of a total of sixteen 

 species known with certainty as recognisable species found within this region and not 

 obviously (?) imported forms — like Perichaeta indica and Eudrilus eugeniae — no less 

 than thirteen are Perickaetas. But nothing further can be said in favour of a 

 Polynesian region, such as Mr Lydekker urges, from the point of view of earthworms. 

 So far as earthworms are concerned there is. it appears to me, a great Oriental 

 region which embraces Australia and Polynesia on the one hand, and the whole of 

 the Malay Archipelago and India on the other. This cannot be profitably subdivided. 



Perichaeta Novae-Britaxxiae, Benham. 



P. novae-britannicae, Benham, Journ. Linn. Soc. Zool., xxvi. p. 199. 



Dr Benham has given a very full account of the anatomy of this species ; and 

 I have practically nothing to add to his account. It is clearly the commonest species 

 of New Britain, judging by the numbers contained in Dr Willey's collection. Dr 

 Benham's figure of the papilla.' in the neighbourhood of the male pores does not 

 however seem to me to exhibit their characters accurately. They are not glandular 

 looking areas as are generally the copulatory papillae of these worms. In the specimens 

 which I examined they were invariably sharp depressions in the body-wall (Fig. 9), 

 looking as if they played the part of suckers rather than adhesive papillae. I may also 

 observe that the species grows to a larger size than might be inferred from Benham's 

 description. I have examined a well preserved example of 160 mm. by 8 mm. in 

 breadth. 



Perichaeta Sedgwickii, Benham. 



P. sedgwickii, Benham, loc. cit., p. 201. 



Dr Benham described an exceedingly remarkable character in this species. Instead 

 of the two normal caeca of Perichaeta, wanting in so few species, and placed always, 

 or in the vast preponderance of species, in the XXVth or XXVIIth segment, Benham 



