388 MB. r. B. BEDDABD ON TWO [Apr. 17, 



Nannodrilus, nov. gen. 



Def. Small worms with paired setce. Ne'phridia paired. Cal- 

 ciferoiirS gland in ix. Spermiducal glands tiuo pairs lined hy 

 a single layer of glandular cells, opening on to exterior in 

 xvii., xviii. ; the anterior pair open in a bursa copulatrix 

 ivith, hut independently of, sperm-ducts. Spermathecoe without 

 diverticula. — Hah. West Africa. 



This new genus evidently belongs to that group of small-sized 

 Cryptodrilidae which includes the genera Ocnerodrilus, Gordiodrilus, 

 and Pygmoiodrilus. They all agree in the fact that the spermiducal 

 glands are lined by a single layer only of glandular cells, a 

 character not found anysvhere else except in the Acanthodrilid 

 genus Kerria. The present genus comes nearest to Gordiodrilus ; 

 but it should be, I think, regarded as the type of a new genus on 

 account of the bursa copulatrix. In other respects it agrees fairly 

 closely with Gordiodrilus. 



Nannodrilus africanus, n. sp. 



Def. Length an inch to two inches. Glitellum xiii.-xvii. Two 

 rudimentary gizzards in vii., viii. Nephridia begin in v. 

 Sperniathecm two pairs in viii., ix. 



As the present is the only species of the genus, the above 

 definition of the species is of course only very tentatively put 

 forward. 



The clitellum occupies the segments stated in the definition ; it 

 extends right round the body and is conspicuous in mature 

 specimens. Such specimens are also always obvious on account of 

 the protruded penes. These are as long as the diameter of the 

 body. Their structure will be more conveniently deferred until 

 the "description of that of the efferent apparatus in general. The 

 intersegmental septa in the anterior region of the body are much 

 prolonged backwards and lie \nthin each other like a series of 

 cups ; those separating segments v./ix. are particularly thickened. 

 The oesophagus runs in a perfectly straight uniform way without 

 dilatations from the pharynx to segment ix ; in segments vii. and 

 viii. it is furnished \^-ith rudimentary gizzards, whose cahbre is not 

 greater than that of the oesophagus. 



On a dissection these gizzards would be hardly recognizable ; 

 the increased thickness of their muscular walls entitles this section 

 of the oesophagus to be termed gizzard, but the epithelium has no 

 trace of the thick chitinous lining so constantly associated with the 

 gizzard. In the ninth segment is the calciferous gland, which 

 appears to be an unpaired structure. It is constricted in the 

 middle, dividing it into an anterior and a posterior section. The 

 minute anatomy appears to be most like that of Gordiodrilus. The 

 mass of the gland has a granular structure and contains numerous 

 nuclei; but in spite of the undoubted nuclei no cell-boundaries 

 could be detected. The tissue is in fact quite like that which 



