76 Mr. F. E. Beddard on a 



The resemblance to Phreoryctes naturally implies a likeness 

 to the Nematoid Gordius. This resemblance, which was not 

 lost after preservation with Perenyi's solution, followed by 

 alcohol, is due to the very great length of the worm as com- 

 pared with its breadth. Gordiodrilus tenuis can perform a 

 feat which needs a considerable length of body : the speci- 

 men under consideration had actually tied its body into a 

 knot ; this suggested the generic name. 



A special point of resemblance to Phreoryctes is the great 

 length of the segments as compared with their breadth ; the 

 length is equal to, or even exceeds, the diameter ; and this 

 statement, it should be observed, applies not only to the living 

 worm, but also to the worm after preservation with reagents 

 that cause a considerable amount of contraction. 



Another remarkable characteristic of this annelid was first 

 appreciated when it was lifted out of the basin of water in 

 which it had been placed to thoroughly free it from soil. 

 Under these circumstances the setge were very distinctly felt 

 for so slender a worm ; it clung to the fingers, and was only 

 with some little difficulty to be detached. This is due, as I 

 shall point out later, to the large size of the ventral set«. 

 The colour during life was of a creamy white diversified with 

 red marks (the larger blood-vessels) ; there appeared to be 

 no pigment in the skin ; the white colour is due to the 

 crelomic corpuscles, which are exceedingly numerous. In 

 examining a collection of Oligochasta from tropical Africa, 

 one is inclined to assume that they will prove to belong to 

 the family Eudrilidse, which is so characteristically an African 

 family ; and as a matter of fact, all the other specimens which I 

 received from Assaba along with this Gordiodrilus do belong 

 to that family. After the first superficial examination of the 

 Annelid at present under consideration I w^as disposed to 

 refer it to the genus MegacJueta, lately described by Michael- 

 sen in one of the most interesting of his many contributions 

 to the structure and distribution of the Oligochajta *. Of 

 Megachceta tenuis^ one of the two' species of the genus, 

 Michaelsen remarks that it is " der schlankeste Teleudriline, 

 der mir zu Gesicht gekommen ist. Das vorhandene aus 162 

 Segmenten bestehende Stiick ist 120 mm. lang bei einer 

 grosste Dicke von nur 1 mm." (p. 17). It shows, further- 

 more, a great disparity in size between the ventral and dorsal 

 seta? ; in fact, anyone judging from external characters only 

 would undoubtedly refer my Gordiodrilus tenuis to Michael- 

 sen's genus MegachcEta. This is, however, only another 



* " BeschreibuDg der von Herrn Stulilmann auf Sausibar und dem 

 gegenueberliegenden," &c., SB. Hamb. Wiss. Aust. Bd. ix. 



