ARTICLE XXVIII.-A DESCRIPTION OF TWO NEW SPECIES OF 

 LAND NEMERTEANS FROM THE AUCKLAND ISLANDS; 



TOGBTHEE WITH SOME OBSERVATIONS ON THE ANATOMY OF THE PROBOSCIS 

 IN GEONEMEBTES AUSTBALIENSIS AND G. NOVAE-ZEALANDIAE. 



By A. D. Darbishire, M.A., B.Sc, Demonstrator of Zoology in the Royal College of Science, London. 



The two worms which compose the collection of land nemerteans were collected 

 by Dr. Benham during this expedition to the Auckland Islands, and prove to be 

 new species of the genus Geonemertes (I have named them G. spirospermia and 

 G. caeca) ; but in view of the fact that there is only one specimen of each species, 

 and that the worms were not preserved with a view to minute histological 

 examination, I shall confine myself in this paper to a description of such characters 

 as warrant the creation of the new species, and shall postpone a full consideration 

 of the systematic position of these two forms until a larger number of specimens 

 in a better state of preservation is available. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE TWO NEW SPECIES. 

 Geonemertes spirospermia, n. sp. 



The single specimen was obtained at Auckland Island. 



External Characters. 



The single specimen of this species is 15*5 mm. long and 

 a little over 2 mm. across at the anterior end, gradually de- 

 creasing in breadth backward to the posterior end, which is a 

 little over 1 mm. Just in front of the posterior end is a con- 

 striction, which at first led me to take what is really the tail 

 for the head. It was by finding the eyes on what I had 

 thought was the tail that I discovered the mistake. The eyes 

 are four in number ; they consist of a larger anterior pair, and 

 a smaller posterior pair closer together, just behind the front 

 pair. The ground-colour of the spirit specimen is a rich cream, 

 on which are two longitudinal stripes of a dark-brown colour, 

 the form and extent of which is shown in fig. 1. The curious 

 interruption and anastomosis of the two stripes just in front 

 of their middle is probably due to some injury received at 

 an earlier stage in development. 



v'vv 



Fig. 1. 

 Geonem ertes spirospermia. , 



