Art. XYI. — The Anatomy of Megascolides Australis. 

 By Peofessor W. Baldwin Spencer. 



[Received October 6, read November 10, 1887. J 



The following is an abstract of the full paper which, 

 with illustrations, is in course of publication as a separate 

 monograph. Since it was written and read before the 

 Society, a short account of the macroscopic anatomy ot 

 the same worm has been published in the Journal of the 

 Linnean Society of New South Wales by Mr. Fletcher, 

 whose paper was read in September, one month before 

 the reading of this paper. The papers were written quite 

 independently of one another, and, as far as the macroscopic 

 anatomy of this interesting worm is concerned, are in almost 

 perfect accord. 



Professor M 'Coy's description in the Frodroinus of the 

 Zoology of Victoria (Decade 1, PI 7), contains the first 

 account published of the worm, and deals merely with its 

 external anatomy. In this description the worm is placed 

 in the family Lmmbricidce, and thus close to the common 

 earth-worm, a mistake which would appear to have been 

 due to the counting; of the annuli as seo^ments. 



Mr. Fletcher does not seem to have recognised the worm 

 from Professor M'Coy's description, and himself giving a 

 perfectly correct one, placed it in his genus Notoscolex, 

 containing several other species, so that in his recent paper 

 the worm appears under the name of N. Gi'piJslandicus. 



The worm lives in deep burrows, principally by the sides 

 of creeks in Gippsland. The burrow is devoid of ''castings" 

 at its mouth, is of about the diameter of J to 1 inch, and 

 contains a slimy fluid ; but only in very rare cases any trace 

 of leaves dragged into it. With care, the animal, whose 

 presence can easily be recognised by a peculiar gurgling- 

 sound made when retreating through its burrow, can be dug 

 out. It has been described as brittle, but though it easily 

 tears, the word "brittle" is most inapplicable, as it stretches 

 to a very great amount before even tearing. Its odour, as 

 pointed out by Prof M'Coy, is very characteristic, resembling 

 somewhat that of creosote. 



