R. HORST. PARAPERIPATUS LORENTZI. 149 



PARAPERIPATUS LORENTZI n. sp. »)■ 



BY 



Dr. R. HORST. 



Plate V. 



In November 1909 during the last expédition, two Peripafus-specimens were collected 

 in the Wichmann Mountains amidst moss at a height of 3000 M.; it is a couple, consisting of a 

 maie and a female, that may be considered as a happy chance, taking into account the 

 rarity of the maies in comparison with the females among the Peripatidae. MuiR and KERSHAW 2 ) 

 f. i. found on Ceram 63 spécimens of Perip. ceramensis, that ail proved to be females, and 

 of thirteen spécimens of Perip. novae-britanniae 3 ) collected by WlLLEY only three were maies. 

 As usually also in our species the female attains a much larger dimension than the maie, 

 the former measuring about 33 mm. in length, the latter only 19 mm.; however it appears 

 not unlikely, that the çf is not quite full-grown, for a young at birth proved to hâve attained 

 already a length of about 17 mm. 



The ground-colour of the animais (fig. 1) is a uniform dark greenish blue, whereas 

 the primary papillae of the skin are clearly marked out by their somewhat paler hue ; the 

 ventral side of the body is much paler, especially on the legs, on each side of the segmentai 

 groove. There is a ventral médian séries of longitudinal whitish spots; thèse spots, situated 

 between each pair of legs, are divided in the médian body-region into a smaller, roundish anterior 

 one and a larger posterior one, which is somewhat sagittate. The papillae around the mouth 

 and a ring around the base of the oral papillae are yellowish white, whereas the pads of the 

 legs are ochraceous, at least in the female ; in the maie the last-named coloration is less 

 distinct. The eyes are whitish. 



1) A preliminary description was published in the „Notes from the Leyden Muséum, Vol. XXXII, p. 217". 

 After forwarding this note to Mr. Adam Sedgwick, he kindly fixed my attention thereupon, that he published in „Nature 

 of 26 May 1910, p. 369", a short diagnosis of Perip. papuensis^ based on spécimens from Sarayu in the Arfak mountains. 

 I regret very much that I overlooked this paper, containing the first description of a Peripatus found in New Guinea. 



2) Quart. Journ. of Microsc. Science, Vol. 53 (1909), p. 737, pi. 19. 



3) Zoolog. results based on material from New Britain, New Guinea etc., 1898, p. I, pis. I — IV. 

 Nova Guinea. IX. Zoologie. 20 



