Fnend : The Annelid Fauna of Worcestershire. 175 



I have examined hundreds of s])ecimens from every part 

 of Great Britain, and from many foreign parts, and I find 

 that it is possible to obtain examples of every shade of 

 divergence from those which can, with difficulty, be differen- 

 tiated, to those which could not be confused with each other. 

 The worm is a good deal smaller than the last, and lighter in 

 colour. The setae are paired, the head less distinctly marked, 

 the male pores on very j^roniincnt j^apillae, which usually aifect 

 the adjoining segments. The girdle extends from about the 

 twenty-eighth to the thirty-fourth segment, and the tubercula 

 ])ubertatis form a band along the thirty-first, thirty-second, and 

 thirty-third, resulting in the formula — "-'^ 



3. Allolobophora turgida Eisen. — This differs from 

 the latter chiefly in the matter of the tubercula. They 

 belong to the class designated Aporrectodea by Oerley, being 

 found alternately on 31 and ^^. This is the form most 

 prevalent in Worcestershire, so far as my observations have 

 gone hitherto. Next to longa it is perhaps the commonest 

 worm we have. It may be found by scores in spring, caught 

 by the frost after it has been lured forth by the dew and 

 warmth of the early night. Formula ?ii^. 



These three worms have an unpleasant, earthy smell. 

 They all emit mucus, but differ from the next in giving off no 

 turbid, coloured secretion. 



4. Allolobophora chlorotica Savigny. — This is a worm 

 which can never be confused with any other British species- 

 It will eventually have to be separated from this genus to 

 which it is not at all closely related. It differs from the 

 foregoing in having three pairs of spermathecae, three pairs 

 of pores for tubercula pubertatis, much smaller dimensions and 

 different habits, and in the emission of a turbid green or yellow 

 fluid from the dorsal pores, to mention no other points of differ- 

 ence. It is perhaps the most sluggish worm we have, and yet is 

 usually extremely well favoured. It coils itself up almost like 

 a grub or slug, and lies under stones by ponds and fords, or in 

 the turf by the side of water. It is frequently found also in 

 gardens, and seems to be eschewed by birds and fishes on 

 accovmt of its yellow fluid. It is about two or three inches long 

 when uncoiled, usually of a dirty green colour, with girdle on 

 segments twenty-nine to thirty-seven, and papillae on alternate 

 segments thirty-one, thirty-three, thirty-five. It is the type 

 of Oerley's Aporrectodea. The formula is '-^^ ' ^"^ 



1910 Apl. I. 



