ZOOLOaiCAL RESULTS OF A TOUR IN 
THE FAR EAST. 
AQUATIC OLIGOCHAETA FROM JAPAN AND CHINA. 
(Plate IV.) 
By J. Stephenson, D.Sc. 
The following paper describes the Oligochaete worms present in ten tubes brought 
back by Dr. Annandale from his recent tour. Of these, one was from China; one, 
containing a quantity of worms sold as food for goldfish, was from Kyoto ; and the 
rest from Lake Biwa. 
It is unfortunate that so many of the specimens from Lake Biwa were sexually 
immature and therefore unidentifiable. This was the case with the whole of the con- 
tents of four out of the eight tubes as well as with a number of specimens in some of 
the others. Some of the immature worms, from their similarity to other sexual speci- 
mens in the collection, have been identified with these with more or less of proba- 
bility ; but at least one species of Tubificid and two of Lumbriculid remain. The 
Tubificid was found at the deepest point of the lake, 320 ft,; the Lumbriculids at 
180, 200, 250, 260 and 320 ft. 
Of the species which have been identified or newly described Chaetogaster annan- 
dalei was found within a sponge at a depth of 15 ft. ; Kawamuria japonica at depths 
of 260 and 320 ft., and worms probably to be referred to the same species at 250 ft., 
as well as in shallow water, 6-27 ft. ; Criodrilus hathybates comes from a depth of 180 
ft.; Limnodrilus socialis horn. Aitoho-S ; and Branchiura sowerbyi from 175 metres in 
Lake Tai-Hu, Kiangsu Province, China, as well as from ditches (along with Limno- 
driliis socialis). 
GENERAL REMARKS. 
Before proceeding to the systematic description of the new species, I may per- 
haps be allowed to set down a few remarks of more general interest. 
(i) Chaetogaster amiandalei. The genus Chaetogaster is already known as a com- 
mensal in Sponges. Annandale (i) describes C. spongillae in Spongilla carteri and 
S. decipiens in Calcutta; it frequents only those parts of the sponge that are dying 
or dead, its food apparently consisting of the organic debris left by their decay; the 
healthy, growing parts are quite free of them. Only a few specimens of the present 
species were found in the small sponges from Lake Biwa submitted for examination ; 
but in this case the sponges were young and compact. 
Chaetogaster is also frequently commensal on or in the shell of freshwater Gastro- 
pods; one species (C. limnaei) may be endoparasitic in the liver of certain Pulmonata; 
others, however, live freely. 
