THE LEECHES OF MINNESOTA 117 



caudal sucker to the lips is a broad, dull but conspicuous rufous or 

 orange band which broadens and encroaches on the dorsal surface as 

 it approaches close to the head, but contracts again on the lip to a nar- 

 row marginal line. The ventral margin of this band is, owing to the pur- 

 er ground color below, more sharply defined. Small irregular spots of 

 black are scattered more or less remotely over the dorsum, being usu- 

 ally most numerous toward the margins and ends of the body, especial- 

 ly in the specimen figured. Sometimes they are almost absent and 

 are never numerous. Except for a few along the lateral rufous band 

 the ventral surface is free from spots. The caudal sucker is of the 

 ground color both above and below, with a narrow rufous border. 



Nothing distinctive concerning the habits of this leech is known 

 to me and I have seen no examples except those in this collection from 

 northern Minnesota. 



It seems very probable that the presence of spots which Say 

 attributes to his H. lateralis may have applied to this species rather 

 than ihe one which is represented by Say's supposed type. The spots 

 are much more conspicuous and constant in this than in that species 

 and as the coloring is otherwise almost identical and both species 

 occur in the precise region from which his types came Say might 

 easily have confused them. 



Haemopis grandis (Verrill). 



(Plate IV, figs. 26, 27, 28; Plate V, fig. 37) 



Semiscolex grandis Verrill (1874). 



Description — As Prof. Verrill indicated in his original description 

 this is a monster among American leeches, exceeding the North Amer- 

 ican representatives of the terrestrial variety of H. lateralis and at 

 least equaling the larger representatives of that species which Philippi 

 has described from Chile under the names of Macrobdella valdiviana 

 and M. gigas. Living examples not infrequently exceed a foot in 

 length and specimens of fifteen or even eighteen inches have been 

 reported from the lakes of Minnesota. However, this is an unusual 

 size and smaller individuals having a length of from five to eight 

 inches are much more common. 



The body is very robust and heavy posteriorly, but rather slender 

 anterior to the clitellum. While seldom much depressed the body does 

 not assume the quite rounded form frequent in H. marmoratis, which 

 some varieties of this leech closely resemble in general aspect. In 





