38 Cobb —Nematodes, mostly Australian and Fijian. 



the nerve-ring. The cinctured tail is conoid to the terminus, where it is one-fifth as 

 wide as at the anus. There appear to be no caudal glands. The eggs are two-thirds 

 as long as the body is wide and two-thirds as wide as long. The reflexed portion of 

 the ovary reaches two-fifths the way back to the vulva and contains upwards of a 

 dozen developing ova which in the distal part are arranged in several rows. The 

 male has not yet been seen. I have made a number of sketches of the anatomy of 

 this species ; these are reproduced on PI. iv. 



Hab. — Soil about banana plants, Fiji, 1891, not common. I am not positive 

 that this worm is the same as that first seen by Prof. Biitschli in Germany ; however 

 the resemblance is so great that I do not feel justified in applying a new name, 

 especially as the male has yet to be seen. 



2. P. australis, n.sp. l-s \-\ ^2-3 '2^4 Ts ^'°™- The plain transverse striae of the 

 cuticle are easily resolvable with a moderate power. The hairs, which occur through- 

 out the length of the animal, are very inconspicuous except on the tail. The 

 cylindroid neck terminates in a truncate head bearing ten setse, each about half as long 

 as the head is wide and arranged as usual, the members of the submedian pairs being 

 subequal. The larger of the cephalic setae just mentioned are of peculiar form, the 

 diameter of the hair suddenly decreasing near the tip, the effect being that the hair 

 appears as if encased in a sheath. There are papillae round the mouth. Small lateral 

 organs appear to me to be placed about as far behind the base of the pharynx as the 

 latter is behind the anterior extremity. Their nature I could not make out. The 

 short prismoid pharynx is nearly half as wide as the head and is covered over by the 

 lips. The cylindroid oesophagus is half as wide as the neck. The thick-walled 

 granular intestine is two-thirds as wide as the body and is separated from the 

 oesophagus by a distinct and deep constriction. The cardia is transparent and gives 

 rise to a pseudo-bulb. The tail is conoid from the depressed anus but tapers more 

 rapidly at first than towards the end. It appeared that tail glands were present, the 

 terminus being narrow but convex-conoid as if furnishing an outlet for the secretion 

 of caudal glands, and on that account such glands may be supposed to be present, 

 though not seen. The eggs are two-thirds as wide as the body, and five times as long 

 as wide, and are probably deposited before segmentation begins. 



Hab. — Roots of plants. Moss Vale, New South Wales, Australia. 



Genus PLECTUS, Bastian. 



P. insignis, n.sp. 2-8 3- 4-2 4-2 2-7 '^ ™™- The cuticle is traversed by plain trans- 

 verse striae easily made out with a lens of medium power. Short hairs occur 

 throughout the length of the worm. The neck is conoid, — somewhat convex conoid 



