854 



CONTRIBUTION TO OUR KNOWLEDGE OF 

 AUSTRALIAN HIRUDINEA. 



Part ii. 



By E. J. Goddard, B.A., B.Sc., Linnean Macleay Fellow op 

 the Society in Zoology. 



The single specimen of a leech, the description of which forms 

 the subject of this paper, was obtained from a freshwater pool in 

 the vicinity of Oberon, N.S.W. It differs sufficiently from that 

 of any other well known member of the Hirudinea to warrant 

 the institution of a new generic name, 



This new genus finds its place in the Family Ilerpobdellidce, 

 one of the two divisions of the Arhynchobdellidce as classified by 

 R. Blanchard (1894), who gave as the characters of the family: — 

 " Gula maxillis dentatis carens, quandoque tribus pseudognathis 

 chitinosis inermibus ornata, uno medio infero, duobus lateralibus 

 superis. Oculi 8 in duas series a pluribus annulis separatas dispo- 

 siti, constantesque e duobus paribus anterioribus et duobus paribus 

 posterioribus. Papillae segmentarise permultse, non apparentes. 

 Annuli 5-1 1 in somito integro, saepius dispares. Pori nephridiales 

 in latere ventris hiantes. Intestinum caecis lateralibus carens. 

 Ova pauca in capsulis ellipticis complanatis pellucidis lapidibusque 

 vel herbis adhaerentibus posita. Habitant aquas dulces." 



Oka, in instituting the genus Orobdella (1895), found that the 

 above diagnosis, in respect of the number of eyes and the habitat, 

 would have to be altered in order to include Orobdella among the 

 Ilerpobdellidce, to which family it undoubtedly belonged. Oka 

 gave as an amended diagnosis : — " Hirudinea without proboscis, 

 without jaws; eyes in less than 5 pairs, or wholly wanting; rings 



