1/4 MR. F. E. BEDDAR0 ON A LARGE EARTHWORM. [Mar. 16, 



rny species, however, these structures are in the same segment as that 

 which contains the anterior spermatheca and are not in a segment 

 intercalated between those which contain the anterior and posterior 

 pairs of spermathecae respectively. One of the setae is displayed 

 in the drawing (fig. 3), and the lower extremity, more iiighly 

 magnified, in another drawing (fig. 4) ; the general aspect of these 

 setae is very similar to that of the penial setae. The seta is curved 

 slightly towards the extremity ; its thickness diminishes gradually 

 until near to the distal extremity, where it becomes again thicker 

 and terminates in a swollen brush-like extremity, the exact sliape 

 of which can be gathered from an inspection of the figure. The 

 distal extremity of the seta is ornamented with delicate transverse 

 ridges projecting like the edges of scales and denticulated. 



In Lumbricus Hering' has described, and Vejdovsky " confirmed 

 for other species, the modification of certain of the setae in the 

 neighbourhood of tiie genital orifices ; those of the ventral pair in 

 "the 10th, 1 5th, or one of the neiglihouring segments, and furthermore 

 in the region of the 26th segment and on the clitellum from segment 

 31 to segment 38 ": these setae are more slender than, and double the 

 length of, the ordinary setae of the body. In the work referred to 

 A'^ejdovsky goes on to f)oint out that the penial setae in Acatithodrilus 

 and other genera probably correspond to these and differ from the 

 genital setae of Chcetogaster &c., which are developed during the 

 breeding-season in the neighbourhood of the ordinary locomotor 

 setae, and in addition to them ; the penial setae of Acanthodrilus 

 replace tlie ordinary locomotor setae. Since in Lumbricus the 

 modified setae developed in the generative segments are not confined 

 to a single segment or even to the segments bordering upon the 

 male generative pores, it is perhaps not surprising to find that in the 

 present species of Acunthodrilus there are additional sacs of penial 

 setae besides those normally found in the l/th and 19th segments 

 of the body. The modified setae of Lumbricus are also furnished 

 with a gland which projects into the body-cavity ; these are apf)ar- 

 ently the capsulogenous glands of D'Udekem and Lankester, which 

 are the equivalents of the setigerous glands, being simply enlarged in 

 order to assist in the generative function. In Acanthodrilus mutti- 

 porus I have figured a pair of glands ^ corresponding to the setae 

 which are probably the homologues of these glands, and I imagine 

 that in the species of which the present note treats the two large 

 glands related to the modified setae of segment 8 are in all proba- 

 bility to be referred to the same category and are not special 

 structures. 



After the foregoing notes on the structure of this Earthworm I 

 may briefly refer to those points which seem to indicate that it is 

 a distinct species differing from both the other two Acanthodrili 

 which inhabit New Caledonia. With regard to external characters 

 it appears to agree with A. u-ngulaius in the segments occupied 



' Zeitschr. f. wiss. Zool. Ed. viii. p. 418. 



' System und Morphologie der OligochaHen (Prag, 1884), pp. 156-7. 



^ Ann. Sc. Nat. 7*' S(5rie, t. xix. pi. i. fig. 6 b. 



