326 MB. A. E. SHIPLEY ON THE GETfUS SIPTTNCFLXTS. [Apr. 18, 



Mr. "W. L. Sclater, F.Z.S., made some remarks on the Zoological 

 Gardens of Antwerp and Amsterdam, which he had lately visited. 

 In the Antwerp Gardens, amongst other interesting animals, was 

 an example of the Ounce (Felis uncia), which appeared to be in 

 good health. The female Hippopotamus which had produced the 

 young male now living in the Society's Gardens was expected to 

 give birth to another young one very shortly. 



The following papers were read : — 



1. Notes on the Genus Sipunculus. By Arthur E. Shipley, 

 M.A., Fellow and Lecturer of Christ's College and 

 Demonstrator of Comparative Anatomy in the University 

 of Cambridge. (Communicated by Frank E. Beddard, 

 F.R.S., F.Z.S.) 



[Eeceived March 28, 1893.] 



(Plates XXV.-XXVII.) 



During his recent expedition to Zanzibar, Mr. F. Finn, F.Z.S. , 

 collected specimens of two species of Gephyrean worms of the 

 genus Sipunculus ; these were handed to me by my friend Mr. 

 Beddard, and the following paper contains some notes on the 

 anatomy and histology of these forms, together with a few obser- 

 vations on Sipunculids in general. The two species are Sipunculus 

 indicus and S. cumanensis ; the anatomy of the latter is well known. 



SiPimcuLiTs iNDicirs. 



The exterior of this Sipunculid is well shown in Keferstein's 

 article in the ' Zeitschrift f 'iir wissenschaftliche Zoologie' (1), but 

 unfortunately be had only one example at his disposal, and 

 could not investigate the internal anatomy of the animal. The 

 examples which »Selenka had to describe for his admirable monograph 

 on the Sipunculidae (2), although externally well preserved, were 

 so much macerated as to make any investigation of the soft 

 internal organs impossible; he therefore had to content himself 

 with adding a couple of lines to Keferstein's description of the 

 external appearance of the Gephyrean, which he quotes, 



Sipunculus indicus is one of the largest species of the genus. 

 The length of the four individuals placed in my hands was 18, 17j, 

 17, and 15 inches i-espectively. Their bodies were very attenuated, 

 the average diameter being ^ to | of an inch, but their posterior 

 ends were slightly swollen and ended in a truncated cone. 



The head of the animal is followed by a short neck (the introvert) 

 covered with scale-like papillte (Plate XXVI. fig. 4) ; the rest of the 

 body is very markedly ringed. The rings vary a good deal in 

 their width, but as- a rule they are about the same relative size as 



