122 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



Heloclrilus cliloroticus is found commonly throughout Europe and ]S"orth 

 America. 



Heloclrilus longus, H. constrictus, and Octolasium lacteuiii range over the 

 British Isles, Southern Europe, and North America, but do not occur north 

 of Germany. 



One species, Helodrilus Beddardi, occurs in Xorth America, Ireland, 

 Thibet, and North China. The two species Helodrilus mammalis and 

 Lumbricus festivus, though common and widely spread in the British Isles, 

 occur elsewhere only in the north of France. Octolasium cyaneum, rare in 

 the British Isles, has a more extended range, being found in Germany, 

 France, Switzerland, and North Italy. Helodrilus Eiseni has a still wider 

 distribution. It is very common in the British Isles : and on the Continent 

 is found in Denmark, Germany^ Portugal, North Italy, and Croatia. 



Only two species, Helodrilus {Eophila) oculatus, and H. {Eopliila) ictericus, 

 occurring in Great Britain, are absent from Ireland. The former was found 

 near Edinburgh ; the latter in the Botanic Gardens at Cambridge— a some- 

 what suspicious locality. On the Continent, H. oculatus is found in 

 Germany, Switzerland, and North Italy ; whilst H. ictericus occurs in France, 

 Switzerland, and North Italy. 



This distribution agrees roughly with that of the Germanic group of our 

 fauna. It is interesting to note that these species fall into the large sub- 

 genus ' Eophila,' that they are the only representatives of this sub-genus in 

 the British Isles, that neither of them is found in Ireland, and that they 

 belong to the faunistic group, the Germanic, which is considered the most 

 modern in our fauna. This sub-genus has a restricted and continuous range 

 over Southern Europe and South-west Asia, and is probably the most recent 

 in origin of the various groups of the Lumbricidae. In view of its almost 

 complete absence, it seems a fair inference that the greater part of the 

 earthworm fauna of these islands is of comparatively great age. This applies 

 especially to Ireland, where the sub-genus Eophila is quite absent, and 

 where the oldest element, the Lusitanian, is well represented. 



The most interesting group comprises those species which occur in 

 Ireland, but not in Great Britain. These are Lumhricus Friendi [Lumbricus 

 impillosus, Friend), Eisenia veneta, var. hibernica, E. v. var. zebra, Helodrilus 

 relictus, and Helodrilus Beddardi. The latter has already been discussed ; and 

 its peculiar distribution does not yet admit of any satisfactory explanation. 

 The other species are found on the Continent, in the south-west or the 

 Mediterranean regions of Europe and Asia. 



Lumbricus Friendi is common in the south of Ireland. On the Continent 

 it is markedly alpine in its range, and is only found at considerable elevations 



