1892.] jSpecies of earthworms. 683 



Michaelsen\ All of my specimens are excessively small, not 

 measuring much more than an inch in length ; this is about 

 the size given by Michaelsen. They all have the single median 

 oviducal pore, which not only distinguishes the species from the one 

 just defined, but also from every other Benhamia except B. gracilis. 

 This pore lies betvpeen the ventral setge of segment xiv. I found the 

 extent of the clitellum to vary somewhat ; Michaelsen gives segments 

 xiii.-xx. This was the case with the worms from Jamaica and with 

 the single specimen from Seebpore ; in the individual from Dominica 

 the clitellum extended as far as the xxist segment, commencing with 

 the xiiith ; in the specimen from Lagos, on the other hand, the clitel- 

 lum w^as less extensive, viz. xiv.-xviii. 



II. Family Cryptodrilid^. 



9. Microdrilus saliens (sp. et gen. nov.), 



I have had about a dozen specimens of this small Earthworm for 

 examination ; they were picked out from earth that arrived at 

 Kew Gardens from Singapore ; another individual turned up from 

 Java and others from Penang. The small size of the species 

 suggested the generic name ; the largest individuals are in alcohol 

 hardly more than an inch in length. Daring life the species is, like 

 Perickceia, remarkable for its extreme agiHty ; when touched they 

 twist themselves violently from side to side and can often spring for 

 a short distance above the table. The worms were preserved in 

 corrosive sublimate and acetic acid, followed by increasing strengths 

 of alcohol, and were investigated by transverse and longitudinal 

 sections. The genus belongs to the family CryptodrilidEe as defined 

 by myself^. Though I have examined a considerable number of 

 individuals, the presence of sand in the intestines spoilt a good 

 many of the sections ; hence my account of the anatomy of what is 

 in all probability a new genus in less than it should be. As, how- 

 ever, the worm shows one feature of some little interest, I have 

 thought it worth while to add to the present paper such notes as I 

 am able to give. 



There are two gizzards, which follow each other almost immediately 

 and are only separated by the slightest constriction. In segments 

 XV., xvi., and xvii. lie the calciferous glands ; these have the usual 

 structure and contain large rhomboidal crystals. Their connexion 

 with the oesophagus is interesting ; each pouch does not, as is 

 generally the case, open into the gut ; there is only one duct on 

 each side communicating with the oesophagus. It lies just behind 

 the septum separating segments xv./xvi. ; the two remaining pouches 

 of each side communicate with the middle pouch, which alone has 



^ " Oligochaeten des Hamburger naturhistorisclien Museums, iv.," JB. Hamb. 

 wiss. Anst., Ed. viii, 



" Terricolen der Berliner zoologiscben Sammlung," Arch. f. Nat., Bd. 1892. 



^ " The Classification and Distribution of Earthworms," Proc. Eoy. Phys. 

 See. Edinb. 1890, i. p. 236. 



