150 " Memoirs of the Indian Museum. [Vol. I, 



deshayesi, we now know with certainty that it is nothing but the "paire antérieure 

 d'organes males." Finally we have to settle the question about the " petit gésier 

 musculaire qui occupe le sixième anneau" in M. deshayesi after PERRIER (/.c.,p. 131). 

 In the nearly allied M. perrieri I could detect no trace of such an anterior giz- 

 zard. The oesophagus was equally narrow throughout, and in a series of longitudinal 

 sections it everywhere showed a uniformly tender muscular layer, — nowhere a thickened 

 portion which might be regarded as a rudimentary gizzard. I was eager after this 

 statement to re-examine the oesophagus of M. deshayesi, and it was principally on this 

 account that I asked the author of this species and the officer in charge of the collec- 

 tion which contained the type specimen, for permission to re-examine the latter. I can 

 state now that M. deshayesi agrees in this point throughout with M. perrieri and all 

 the other Moniligastridœ. There is no gizzard in the 6th segment. PERRIER mistook 

 a casual swelling of the oesophagus in the 6th segment for a gizzard. Without intending 

 to open the organ for a more exact examination, I could see its structure by a small 

 accidental rent. The wall of this apparently different part of the oesophagus was very 

 delicate and thin, not at all muscular, and doubtless in consequence of the extension 

 whilst swelling, even more tender than the neighbouring parts of the oesophagus. This 

 delicacy of the wall may have misled PERRIER, for in consequence of it the wall 

 of this inflated part is more transparent, and appears darker by the dark contents 

 which even now fill it. As PERRIER abstained from opening the oesophagus of the 

 unique specimen, it is no wonder that he took this apparently thicker and darker part 

 of the oesophagus for a gizzard. 



After this we may diagnose the genus Moniligaster as follows : — 

 One pair of male pores at 10-11, one pair of female pores at 11-12, one pair of 

 spermathecal pores at 7-8. Four to five gizzards at the anterior end of the 

 intestine, behind the sexual region. East pair of hearts in the 9th segment. 

 One pair of testicular vesicles at septum 9-10. Prostates with distinct 

 glandular part and duct. Ovaries in the nth segment. Egg-sacs at septum 

 11-12. Spermathecse with a two-fold muscular atrial chamber, each sac 

 of which bears a gland consisting of branched tubes. 



MONIUG ASTER PERRIERI, M1CHI.SN. 

 M. p., MICHAEIvSEN, in Mt. Mus. Hamburg, xxiv, p. 146. 



Present five specimens, four quite mature with developed clitellum, and one half 

 mature one. 



External Characters. — Dimensions of the only complete quite mature 

 specimen (all the other mature specimens proved to be regenerated at the hinder end) : 

 Eength 210 mm., greatest thickness 5 mm., number of segments about 175. Other 

 mature specimens seemed to be somewhat smaller. 



Colour more or less intensely bluish grey, dorsally darker than ventrally. 



Head prolobous or indistinctly zygolobous. Prostomium often retracted into the 

 buccal cavity. 



