182 
IDENTITY OF THE AUSTRALIAN PERIPATUS, 
this arrangement very intelligibly. What I find is a pair of 
elevations at the distal end of the ventral aspect, one on each 
side of the median line, and each of them without about two 
spines; they are comparable with the similarly situated but more 
extensive groups of "inconspicuous pale elevations, bearing 
spines" in P. capensis referred to by Sedgwick (I. c. p. 163). 
Sanger, too, noticed them in that species, but in his fig. 5 they are 
represented like a pair of primary papillae, each bearing one spine. 
Since then the type of P. leuckarti, Sang., has 14 pairs of 
walking legs, a question which naturally offers itself for considera- 
tion is — how ought the common, more widely distributed Austra- 
lian Peripatus with 15 pairs of walking legs to be designated 1 ? 
Some months ago I had the opportunity of discussing the question 
with Dr. Dendy in the light of Prof. Spencer's translation. As 
the variation in the number of claw-bearing legs, as far as was 
then known, appeared to be correlated with a variation in the 
character of the outer jaw blades it seemed not unreasonable to 
regard the Peripatus with 15 pairs of walking legs as distinct 
from P. leuckarti, Sang., and entitled to a new name; Dr. Dendy 
even considering himself justified in regarding the larger Victorian 
Peripatus as sufficiently distinct from that of New South Wales 
to merit independent specific rank. And we intended to act 
accordingly. 
Quite unexpectedly, only last week, I received from Mr. A. M. 
Lea, of West Australia, a small consignment of specimens from 
that colony, the examination of which, as it seems to me, throws 
important light on the question propounded above, and has com- 
pelled me to modify my views. Each of five specimens has 15 
pairs of walking legs, and the jaw-blades removed from one of 
them are without an accessory tooth at the base of the fang of 
the outer blade. Under the old regime it would have seemed to 
be a moot point whether they should be called P. insignis, Dendy, 
var. with 15 pairs of legs, or P. leuckarti, Sanger, var. with- 
out an accessory tooth; indeed in the absence of males they might 
almost have been referred to P. novce-zealandice, Hutton. If the 
