Morse.] 338 [March 19, 
In the Brachiopods, therefore, particularly in Lingula, where the 
vascular system appears to be quite rudimentary, the presence of a 
ciliated perivisceral coat is to be expected. 
Tt must be confessed that much work has yet to be done in clearing 
up the obscurity which still exists in regard to the circulatory system 
of the Brachiopods. What litile is known about it, however, points 
to vermian affinities. 
Digestive System. 
In worms, the digestive tract usually takes a direct antero-posterior 
course without convolutions. There are, however, marked exceptions 
to this rule. 
In the Sipunculoid worms, the intestine is not only convoluted, but 
in many of them the anus terminates in front. In a curious worm, 
described and figured by Philippi,t under the name of Hementeria, 
an anterior vent is described. 
In those remarkable worms, Phoronis and Crepina, whose external 
outlines in every particular so closely resemble the Hippocrepian 
Polyzoa,? the anus terminates in close proximity to the mouth. 
In the Acanthocephali, the digestive tract is said to open into the 
general cavity of the body in some, while in others it ends in a cecal 
sac. 
In Temnocephala,2 a Trematode worm, the cecal processes 
from the stomach are much like those in young Brachiopods. 
Among the Rotifera, in some groups the female has the esophagus 
terminating in a cecal stomach. The anus, when present, terminates 
anterior to the caudal portion. ‘The Turbellarians are also devoid 
of an anus. 
The anomalous features here presented by some worms, in the 
absence of an anus, or the possession of a cecal stomach, and the 
anterior termination of the anus, are fully repeated in the Brachio- 
poda. In one entire division of the Brachiopoda, represented by 
Terebratula, the stomach terminates in a cecal sac. In Terebratu- 
lina the alimentary tract is closed posteriorly. Nor has the slightest 
1 Acad. delle Sci. di Torino, series 11, tom. x. 
2TIn Phoronis the oviducts with bilateral openings also terminate in front. Its 
bilobed lophophore, reddish circulating fluid and embryonic stages all resemble the 
Brachiopoda. In fact, Phoronis represents an important connecting link between 
the Polyzoa and the worms. 
3 Zeitschrift fiir Wiss. Zool., Vol. xx, p. 307. 
