228 THE BOUGH SYRINX. 



from personal observation, Professor Forbes gives its 

 length as ranging from six to eight inches. My speci- 

 men, however, measured eleven inches in length, though 

 the posterior extremity was contracted, and the pro- 

 boscis was but little everted, so that under other cir- 

 cumstances its length would certainly have exceeded 

 a foot. The measurement was made, too, when the 

 animal was at perfect rest, and not elongated by 

 crawling. Its thickness was just fths of an inch, 

 uniformly cylindrical, without any noticeable con- 

 tractions or enlargements, except the swelling of the 

 tail, and the diminution to form the proboscis. 



The surface of the body can sceircely be called 

 rough, for, though it is reticulated, the skin is deli- 

 cately smooth, glossy, and iridescent. The reticula- 

 tions are produced by longitudinal and transverse 

 lines, the former about -jj-th, the latter -g-th of an inch 

 apart, very regular. Both series are indented striae, 

 becoming evanescent by being pressed out, when the 

 body is swollen or bent. The hinder extremity, for 

 about an inch, is nearly smooth, forming a swollen 

 oval sac, the furrows of both series being lost on its 

 upper half in irregular corrugations. This part is 

 pearly white, but the whole body besides is of a dull 

 greyish buff, the skin reflecting opaline tints. 



The anterior extremity is suddenly diminished iato a 

 proboscis of about half the diameter of the body, wJiich 

 is capable of being concealed within the body, or 

 protruded by being turned inside oUt like a stocking. 

 Prof. Forbes says its surface is minutely granulated, 

 but this expression does not convey a correct idea of 

 its structure. It is densely covered with very minute 



