192 IDENTITY OF THE AUSTRALIAN PERIPATUS, 
females were opened; each of these contained about 39 very similar 
old embryos, a few of the proximal ones having the tentacles 
noticeably pigmented. 
Two lots obtained early in January at the same locality in 
different years began to produce young towards the end of the 
month, young being especially numerous during February. 
On April 2nd, 1893, I obtained a small batch of specimens; 
within the next fortnight six young ones were observed. 
I have seen newly-born young in every month from August 
(only one specimen) to the early part of May. I have never seen 
them during the latter part of May, or in June and July, and in 
August only one surprisingly early specimen; and I should be 
surprised to find our Peripatus breeding during the winter 
months. Thus, while it will be seen that according to my experi- 
ence, one cannot say of our common New South Wales that it 
breeds all the year round, yet it certainly does during the greater 
part — about three-fourths — of the year. The majority of the 
young I should say were born during a period of six months — 
say from October to March; but the progeny of a few early 
breeders and a few late breeders add another three months. But 
if it cannot be said to breed quite all the year round, still less can 
any particular month by itself be selected as the breeding season. 
And as to the contents of the uterus, I do not find in the same 
female embryos in all stages of development, nor yet embryos 
which are all of the same age. 
The earliest date at which I have happened to examine females 
containing ova which had recently passed into the uterus 
is about the middle of April; the latest about the middle of 
October. In both cases, as well as in a female opened in the first 
week in August, there were also enlarging ovarian ova in various 
stages. Further observations will, I have no doubt, slightly 
extend this period during which at intervals ova mature and pass 
into the oviducts. From about the middle of March, or in 
exceptionally early cases towards the end of February or 
beginning of March, to about the middle of November or 
