TR ACHE ATA 309 



gland is a persistent portion of the original coelom, and the 

 ducts are in all probability modified nephridia, which open 

 into this portion of the coelom. The ova and spermatozoa 

 are formed from cells lining the coelom, as is so commonly the 

 case in the Coelomata. A small portion of the coelom also 

 persists as a vesicle or swollen termination to the nephridia, 

 which therefore correspond in their relations with the nephridia 

 of other animals, and are tubes opening from the coelom to 

 the exterior. Nephridia have not yet been described in many 

 of the Arthropods, so that, although their presence in Peri- 

 paius is extremely interesting, the details of their relationship 

 are not so important for the elucidation of Arthropod structure 

 as are the origin of the body-cavity, heart, and generative 

 organs ; and if we may assume that these latter organs arise 

 in other Arthropods in essentially the same way as they do 

 in Peripatvs, we shall have an explanation of some of the most 

 difficult problems of Arthropod morphology. 



Specimens oiPeripatus capensis are found beneath stones and 

 bark, especially amongst rotten wood, on the slopes of Table 

 Mountain. They are animals which avoid the light, and 

 require moist surroundings. They move slowly, testing the 

 ground with their antennae, which are very sensitive ; the 

 body is borne above the ground by the numerous legs. When 

 irritated, they can expel their slime, which is very sticky, to 

 a distance of almost a foot. They are carnivorous, their food 

 consisting of small insects, etc. The female will produce from 

 thirty to forty young, which are born in the spring, and may 

 be seen at this time of year crawling over the body of their 

 mother. 



