1074 MRo R. J. ORTIiEPP ON THE 



Group Polydelphys. 



(28) PnysALOPTERA TURGiDA Rudolphi, 1819. (Text-fig. 40.) 



Syn. Turgida tiorgida (Rud., 1819), Travassos, 1920. 

 Sjyiro-ptera turgida (Rud., 1819), Duj., 1845. 



The material studied consisted of some excellently preserved 

 specimens in the collection of the Vienna Museum, and of three 

 tubes of material in the collection of Prof. Leiper. 



The cuticle is slightly inflated, and is partly reflected over the 

 lips ; it is transversely striated by very fine strise ; the cervical 

 papillae pierce the cuticle just behind the level of the muscular 

 oesophagus, a,nd from 200 to 300 //, further back is the opening of 

 the excretory gland. 



The two lateral lips are semi-conical in lateral view ; each is 

 surmounted by a large triangular outer tooth having its tip 

 slightly bent outwards; immediately internal to it is a large 

 membranous tooth of equal height and tripartite; no lateral teeth 

 are present. Each lip carries two external papillae, one subdorsal 

 and one sub ventral. 



The oesophagus is long and straight, widening gradually 

 posteriorly ; in the females it varies from l/4"8 to l/5"5 of the 

 total length, and in the male from l/3'9 to l/5'9 ; its muscular 

 portion is thinner than the rest, and forms in the female 1/lOth 

 and in the male l/8th of the vvliole organ. The nerve ring 

 encircles it in its posterior third. 



Female. 



Adult and fully mature females are large and stout, measuring 

 as much as 55 mm. long by 3 mm. broad in their posterior half. 

 The body is attenuated in its anterior half, but posteriorly the 

 thickness is more or less uniform until the vicinity of the anus, 

 where the body tapers suddenly to form a pointed tail l/45th 

 to l/56th of the total body-length, and whose caudal pores are 

 situated in its posterior third. 



The position of the vulva varies considerably, but in all cases 

 it was situated behind the end of the oesophagus ; it divides the 

 body in the ratio of 1 : 2 to 1 : 4'4. The vagina is thick-walled, 

 short, and passes straight back ; it is just less than 1 mixi. long by 

 95 ju. thick. It passes directly into a larger egg-chamber of about 

 the same length and about 230 /x broad; from the posterior end 

 of this chamber a number of uteri take their origin ; because of 

 the complicated manner in which they were' entwined, it was not 

 always possible to determine the exact number, but in two speci- 

 mens it was definitely seen that the one had 11 and the other 

 had 14 uteri. The uteri pass down the body, coiled round each 

 other, almost to the posterior end, when they i^ecurveand join up 

 with the receptacula seminis, which in their turn are united to 

 the ovaries by means of short and thin oviducts. The oviducts 

 pass forwards again to about the middle of the body. 



