1887.] PERIPATUS FROM BRITISH GUIANA. 133 



I do not give a name to this Dominican and British-Guianan 

 Peripatus, since 1 understand that Mr. Sedgwicii is about to 

 pubhsh a monograph on the species of the genus Peripatus, and 

 will include in his work a description of the specimen from Dominica 

 in tlie British Museum. 



All the specimens of Peripatus obtained by me were found, with 

 one exception, in the grounds round Mr. im Thuru's house, Mac- 

 casseema, on the Pomeroon River. Maccasseema is situated on 

 the top of a sand-hill about 30 feet above the river, and is sur- 

 rounded on all sides by the swampy forest, except in front, where 

 it faces the river. The specimens were all found under rotten 

 logs of wood, or under the decaying stalks of the Cokerite Palm 

 {Maximiliana martiana). I never saw one actually in the rotten 

 wood, as has been described by some previous observers. 



The single exception was found about a mile from Maccasseema, 

 up a creek running into the river Pomeroon. This individual was also 

 found under a more or less rotten log close to an Indian house. 



Specimens of Peripatus were exceedingly scarce, and it took a 

 long time to collect even the few I brought home. 



I should mention that examples of Peripatus have also been 

 obtained in Demerara by Mr. Qnelch, the Curator of the Georgetown 

 Museum, who found them about twenty miles from Georgetown on 

 the Hoorubea Creek (36). 



In offering these preliminary notes on this most interesting animal, 

 I have not entered into further details, because Prof. Moseley and 

 Mr. Sedgwick are about to publish an account of the different 

 species of Peripatus, and will incorporate their observations on the 

 present form into their work. But before concluding I must express 

 my thanks to Mr, im Thurn for all the help he gave me in my 

 collecting, more especially for allowing me the use of Douglas, the 

 captain of his Indian boat's crew, as collector, for to his sharp eyes 

 I owe most of my specimens. 



APPENDIX. 



The numbers appended to the authors' names in this paper refer 

 to the following list of publications, which forms, I believe, a nearly 

 complete bibhography of original works on Peripatus. To most of 

 the titles I have added a few remarks explaining the contents of the 

 memoirs. The publications that I have not been able to examine at 

 first hand are marked with an asterisk. 



(1) GuiLDiNG, L. Mollusca Caribbaeana; an account of a new 

 genus of Mollusca. Zool. Journ. ii. pp. 443-444, pi. xiv» 

 1826. 

 Contains the original description of the genus Peripatus and 

 species P. juVformis, found by the author in the forests of St. Vin- 

 cent. The author considered it an aberrant form of slug. A fair 

 coloured plate is given. 



