12 HISTORY OP THE SUBJECT. 



first to describe Carinella annulata. He followed previous authors in classing these and allied 

 forms under the ' Intestinal The same species, termed respectively the Line-worm and the Hair- 

 worm, appeared, from Montagus descriptions, in Dr. Turton's s British Fauna.' They were 

 arranged in a similar manner under Class V, Vermes, and Order I, Intestina, but were placed 

 under different genera, the former being alone, and the latter associated with Gordius aquaticus 

 and G. argillaceus. 



It is from the interesting manuscript, however, which the relatives of Col. Montagu have 

 placed in the Library of the Linnean Society, that we gather how much and how closely the 

 esteemed observer examined the Nemerteans. In this work he describes more than a dozen 

 species, not a few of them for the first time, and the majority so truly, that it is with a sense of 

 relief and satisfaction that one rises from its perusal. Little can be added to his account of the 

 external appearance and habits of the animals ; and, though he did not enter into their anatomy, 

 he correctly interpreted the mouth and anus in the Anopla, and was too cautious an observer to 

 locate the former organ in the same position in the Unopla. He explains that, though he termed 

 the species above mentioned Gordii, this was only a provisional name until further discoveries of 

 species should put him in a position to frame correct generic characters. To the description of 

 the genus Lineus he appends the following remarks on the Nemerteans : — " Their use and general 

 economy are little known, but we may conclude they contribute partly to the food of some fishes, 

 and in their turn keep within bounds some smaller beings, and thus serve to support an equili- 

 brium in the great scale of nature." A volume of carefully coloured figures, by the skilful hand of 

 Miss E. Dorville, accompanies the manuscript. 



O. F. Miiller in his great work 2 described several new species, and gave figures of others 

 mentioned in his previous works, grouping them still under the genus Planaria. Two of his 

 forms, viz., Planaria viridis and P. rubra were communicated by the author of the f Fauna 

 Grcenlandica -/ the others were P.filaris, P. rosea, P.Jlaccida, P. gesserensis, and in the fourth 

 volume P. C. Abildgaard contributed another — Planaria dorsalis. The author observed the 

 proboscis, the cephalic fissures, and the ventral slit in the Anopla, and likewise gave the correct 

 position of the anus. This work then noticed seven species, most of them in a recognisable 

 condition as regards description and figures, the latter especially deserving praise for their faith- 

 ful delineation. 



In 1806 J. Sowerby 3 gave the title Lineus longissimus to the Black Line-worm, which now 

 bears the name of Lineus marinus. He first heard of it from Col. Montagu, and afterwards from 

 Mr. Simmons, who sent specimens from Edinburgh. In his description he correctly located the 

 mouth, and observed the longitudinal streaks on the body, as well as the tendency of the broken 

 posterior end to decay, while the anterior remained alive. He mentions that the fishermen pull 

 them in as they would a rope, but never find the posterior extremity, and that they esti- 

 mate their length at twelve fathoms. A coloured engraving of the animal accompanies the 

 description. 



In 1811 Professor Jameson 4 included Lineus longissimus in his ' Fauna of the Frith of Forth/ 

 mentioning that the worm was not uncommon on oyster-beds. 



1 c British Fauna, containing a Compendium of the Zoology of the British Islands, arranged 

 according to the Linnean System/ Vol. i. Swansea, 1807. 



3 O. F. Muller, < Zoologica Danica/ Havniee, 1788—1806. 

 3 < The British Miscellany/ London, 1806, p. 15, plate 8. 

 * ' Wernerian Memoirs/ Vol. i, p. 557. Edinburgh, 1811. 



