PERIPATUS 



CHAP. 



and a -^-entrallj^ placed mouth. Tlie body is elongated and 

 A'eriniforni ; it bears a number of paired appendage,?, each termi- 

 nating in a pair of claws, and all exactly alike. The number 

 varies in the different species. The anus is always at the 



Fig. 1. — Perijiatus caj)ensis, drawn iioin \iie. Life size. (After Sedgwick. ) 



posterior end of the body, and the generative opening is on the 

 ventral surface just iu front of the anus ; it may be between the 

 legs of the last pair (Fig. 2), or it may be behind them. There 

 is in most species a thin median white line extending the wdiole 

 length of the dorsal surface of the body, on each side of wliicli 



Fig. 2. — Ventral view of liiuil - end of 

 P. Nmae-Zealandiae. (Alter Sedg- 

 wick. ) y, CTcnerative opening ; a, 

 anus. 



Fig. S.— Ventral view of tlie head of /'. 

 capensis. (After Sedgwick. ) ant, Aii- 

 tennae ; or.p, oral papillae ; F.l, first 

 leg ; T, tongue. 



the skin pigment is darker than elsewhere. The colour varies 

 considerably in the different species, and even in different indi- 

 viduals of the same species. The ventral surface is nearly always 

 flesh-coloured, while the dorsal surface has a darker colour. In the 



