On the Structure of a Neio Species of Earthworm. 373 



latus — are natives of New Caledonia ; wliile the third — A. 

 verticillatus — was obtained from the island of Madagascar. 



During the Transit of Venus Expedition, the Eev. A. E. 

 Eaton collected two small earthworms in Kerguelen, which 

 were afterward determined by Professor Lankester ^ to belong 

 to the same genus, and named A. kerguelenensis. In this species 

 the setse of the body have a different arrangement from that 

 found in the previously described species. Instead of being 

 disposed in four series of pairs, the setse of A. kerguelenensis 

 are " in eight series, each seta standing alone and widely 

 separated from its fibres of neighbouring series." Associated 

 with this peculiarity is an additional one, viz., the presence 

 of segmental organs {Of loc. cit., Fig. 4). 



More recently,^ Dr Horst has contributed an account of 

 two other species collected in Liberia. Both of these have 

 the normal arrangement of the setae (four series of pairs), 

 and segmental organs are only present in a very few seg- 

 ments, and then considerably modified. To these six species 

 I am able to add a seventh, which may be called Acantho- 

 drilus capensis. 



Acanthodrihis capensis, n. sp. 

 External characters, etc. — As already said, Acanthoclrilus 

 capensis has very much the same general appearance as 

 Lumhricus terrestris, the colour being, as in that species, a 

 reddish violet upon the dorsal surface, passing into a yellow 

 grey upon the ventral surface. A very noticeable character- 

 istic of the species is its extremely active movements when 

 handled or touched w^ith the forceps. When interfered with 

 in this way, the worms twist themselves violently from side 

 to side, and will sometimes spring up into the air a short 

 distance above the table. It is worth noting that this very 

 same behaviour has been observed in many species of 

 Perichmta, several of which have been found living in Eng- 

 land and France, though there can be little doubt that they 

 were originally introduced along with plants from foreign 

 countries, or in some similar fashion. In the Jardin des 



1 Phil. Trans., extra vol., 1879, p. 264. 



- Notes from Leyden Museum, vol. vi. (1884), No. 2, p. 103. 



