166 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



1900. E. t. Michaelsen in Tierreich, x., p. 471. 



This species is amphibious, and is usually found in or near water. 

 Numerous sub-species have been described ; and it seems to vary a great deal. 

 One specimen from Douglas Head, Isle of Man, agreed almost exactly with 

 the var. hernensis (Eibauc). The male pores were on the 12th segment, the 

 clitellum occupied segments 22-25, and the tubercula were on segments 

 22-|25. It was probably only a mutational form, as numerous specimens 

 from the same locality were quite normal. 



Habitat — Ireland. Very common. Cos. Kerry, Tipperary, Wicklow, 

 Dublin, Donegal. 

 England. Lancashire ; common. 

 Isle of Man. Common. 

 Distribution — British Isles ; Europe ; America. 



Eisenia foetida (Sav.). 



1836. Lumbricus annularis, R. Templeton in Mag. Nat. Hist., vol. ix., 

 p. 234. 



1893. AUolobophora fceticla, Friend in Irish Nat., p. 189. 

 Habitat — Ireland. Cos. Kerry, Cork, Wicklow, Dublin, Meath, Gal way, 

 Down, Donegal. 

 England. Lancashire. 

 Distribution — British Isles; Europe; cosmopolitan through introduction 

 by man. 



Eisenia veneta, var. zebra ? Michaelsen. 



1903. E. V. var. zebra, Michaelsen in Mitt. Mus. Hamburg, xix., p. 39. 



Two specimens of an earthworm not hitherto recorded from the British 

 Isles were received from Limerick in May, 1906. They appeared to resemble 

 closely E. veneta (Rosa), a species found in the north and west of the 

 Mediterranean, from Venice to the Black Sea. A well-marked variety of 

 this species, E. v. var. hibernica, was described by Friend (11. p. 402), who 

 found it in Dublin [vide fig. 1, p. 123). The Limerick worms were, however, 

 quite distinct from this variety, in size, colouring, position of setee, &c., and 

 seemed to approach most closely to the var. zebra, recently described by 

 Michaelsen (loc. cit., p. 39), from Transcaucasia. I accordingly sent a specimen 

 to Prof. Michaelsen for his opinion. He kindly informed me that the Irish 

 specimens agreed more closely with the var. zebra than with any other form ; 

 and also sent me a specimen of the latter for comparison. It seems desirable 

 to give a brief description of the Irish specimens. They are large, handsome 

 worms, 120 mm. long, and 8 mm. broad. The number of segments is 150. 



