Miscellaneous. 121 



Preliminary Account of a new Australian Peripatus. 

 By Aethtte Dendt, M.Sc, F.L.S.* 



A few months ago I had the pleasure of reading before the Pield 

 Naturalists' Club a short account of a trip to WalhaUa f, in which I 

 described some of the Land-Planarians met with. As a result of 

 this paper one of our members, Mr. H. B,. Hogg, began to collect 

 Planarians for me at Macedon. I requested him to look out also 

 for Peripatus, and, with a view to so doing, he carefully examined 

 some of my specimens of P. Leuckartii. Mr. Hogg has not been 

 long in meeting with success in his researches into the cryptozoic 

 fauna of Macedon, and a short time ago he kindly brought me a 

 number of beautiful Planarians, all alive, and five specimens of 

 Peripatus, two alive and three in spirits. 



The Planarians I hope to describe at a future date ; the Peri- 

 patus I propose to deal with in the present communication. 

 Although all small, the specimens proved of the greatest interest, 

 for they undoubtedly belong to a new species. The only 

 Australian species of Peripatus hitherto described is P. Leuckartii, 

 Saenger, which ranges through Queensland, New South Wales, and 

 Victoria, and for details as to which I must refer the reader to my 

 paper in the ' Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria ' %. 

 The only other Australasian species hitherto known is P. novce- 

 zealaiidice, Hutton, from New Zealand. Mr. Hogg's specimens 

 differ in important particulars from both these species. The 

 most important difference is in the number of pairs of legs, P. 

 Leuckartii and P. novce-zealandice having each constantly 15 pairs, 

 while the new species has only 14. The new species differs from 

 P. Leuckartii — to which it might be expected to be most nearly 

 related — also in the structure of the jaws and in the pattern of the 

 skin. The distinctness of the new species may be expressed by 

 the statement that it differs more from either of the two previously 

 known Australasian species than these do from one another. 



On the present occasion I shall describe only the external 

 characters, but I hope in due course to be able to give a complete 

 anatomical account of both the Australian species. 



Peeipatus insignis §, sp. nov. 



Colour and Markings. — {a) Dorsal Surface. — The general 

 appearance to the naked eye is dark, sometimes almost black, 

 speckled with pale orange or yellow. Microscopical examination 

 by reflected light shows that the skin is, as usual in the genus, 



* Reprinted from the ' Victorian Naturalist,' April 1890. 



t "Zoological Notes on a Trip to Walhalla," 'Victorian Naturalist,' 

 December 1889. 



I " Observations on the Austrahan Species of Perijjaius,^^ part 1, Pro- 

 ceedings Royal Society of Victoria, July 1889. 



§ Insignis, distinguished by a mark. 



Ann. tfc Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 6. Vol vi. 9 



