174 Friend: The Annelid Fauna at Worcestershire. 



1. Allolobophora longa Ude. Everywhere mistaken for 

 the true earthworm, which it closely resembles in size and general 

 appearance. Often taken by lecturers as the class-room type 

 in biology, to the endless confusion of students and text- 

 books. It can be distinguished from its rival Lumbricus 

 terrestris L. by many infallible signs. The head bears a strongly 

 marked letter H, but the prostomium does not completely 

 bisect the first segment. The colour is usually a dirty brown 

 or burnt sienna, not so ruddy as Lumbricus, and the tail is more 

 cylindrical. The male pores are conspicuous on the fifteenth 

 segment, the girdle varies somewhat in the number of segments 

 which it includes, but the tubercula pubertatis are constant. 

 They extend over three segments only (not four as in Luni- 

 hriCMs), and the usual formula for girdle and tubercula is ^^ 

 while that of Lumbricus terrestris is 33'lg a difference which 

 is unmistakeable. 



On account of its size, and the clear arrangement of the 

 internal organs, it is the best worm by far for the student to 

 use for purposes of dissection. The spermathecae will be found 

 attached to the body wall in two pairs, on either side of the 

 ventral nerve-chain, and looking like the heads of pins. The 

 ovaries and testes are attached to the septa, and the vesiculae 

 seminalis are the large white bodies which cause the worm to- 

 be so much larger in segments 9 to 12 than elsewhere. It 

 exudes a kind of mucus or slime like the true earthworm, but 

 not a coloured fluid, such as A. chlorotica or the Brandling give 

 off when irritated. It frequently reaches a length of seven or 

 eight inches, but averages five, and is half an inch in diameter 

 at the widest part in large specimens. Although Savigny 

 described this worm long before Ude did, there is such confusion 

 in the terminology till Ude's day that, to save all further 

 trouble, I adhere constantly to the characteristic name longa. 

 The synonyms may be found in all the principal authorities. 



This is the most widely distributed of all our species,, 

 alike in Worcestershire and elsewhere. Found in gardens, by 

 the roadside, and in fields everywhere. I have taken it in 

 Malyern from the burrows made beside the curb stones in the 

 streets. It is hardier than Lumbricus terrestris, which prefers 

 a fatter living, if it can be obtained. 



2. Allolobophora trapezoides Duges. — This and the 

 next are frequently taken to be sub-species, and are put 

 under Caliginosa. There is much to be said for this, but 



Naturalist 



