40 



One of the statocysts of specimen (3) was excised, stained^ 

 and mounted. It is a closed vesicle with thick walls and' 

 contains a large roundish secreted statolith, the diameters of 

 one face of which are about '114 mm. and "105 mm. 

 respectively. 



These features clearly show that the South Australian 

 specimens belong to the species .4. loveni, and agree with 

 those from South Africa, with the exception of certain differ- 

 ences in their chaetae (see above). 



The only other feature which calls for notice here is 

 the presence, in both the specimens dissected, of a pair of 

 thin-walled globular dilatations, each about 4 mm. in 

 diameter, on the dorsal blood-vessel immediately anterior to- 

 the paired hearts and posterior to the oesophageal glands. 

 Similar dilatations are not present in the three South African 

 examples of A . loveni in my collection. 



Arenicola loveni has hitherto been- found only on the 

 coast of South Africa. The type specimen, preserved in the 

 Riks Museum, Stockholm, was found at Port Natal, near 

 Durban, some fifty years ago: but until it was examined by 

 the writer its characters were so imperfectly known that it 

 was impossible to state if A . loveni was a valid species. 

 From the type and from further specimens, collected in Sal- 

 danha Bay and False Bay, were prepared a full description 

 and diagnosis of the species (Ashworth, 1910-11). The pre- 

 sent records from the South Australian coast greatly increase- 

 the known range of distribution of the species, anol it would 

 be interesting to ascertain how far the species extends, east 

 and west, along the Australian coast. 



In this connection it may be remarked that the records, 

 of Arenicola from the Australian coast are very scanty ;( 3 ^ 

 there are, indeed, only two previous records. Some years ago 



(3) The writer, during his recent visit to Australia, examined' 

 many long stretches of sandy shore, but without finding castings 

 or specimens of Arenicola. The absence of Arenicola and its cast- 

 ings forms one of the most striking differences between the 

 Australian beaches and those of Britain and Western Europe, for 

 Arenicola marina is so abundant and readily accessible in Western 

 Europe that it is commonly used as bait. This species occurs in 

 greatest numbers in those beaches where the sand is not shifting 

 and contains a considerable proportion of the decomposing organic 

 matter on which these worms feed. Arenicola is scarce or absent 

 in stretches of clean sand, i.e., where food is scanty, and also where- 

 the force of the sea is great and the sand is constantly shifting. 

 The absence of Arenicola in many Australian beaches is due pro- 

 hably to the wonderful cleanness of the sand, and in other cases 

 to the great force of the sea. The principal Pohjchaeta of the 

 sandy beaches of Australia seem to be Eunicids. Nereids, and 

 Ariciids, but especially the first-named, which are frequently- 

 collected for use as bait. 



