459 
of Edinburgh, Session 1885-86. 
segment behind that which contains the pouch. In this way we 
must assume, for the sake of making all the pouches of the series to 
correspond, that the minute portion of the pouch which lies in 
segment 8 is the pouch itself, and not a diverticulum. On the other 
hand, perhaps, the fourth and fifth pouches still retain the char- 
acters that are met with in most species of Lumbricus * where the 
pouch is situated near to the anterior region of its segment, and the 
duct opens on to the body- wall in the groove between this segment 
and the one in front, with this difference, that a part of the pouch 
has grown through the wall and forms a kind of diverticulum ; if 
the diverticulum continues to grow at the expense of the pouch until 
the latter vanishes altogether, we arrive at the condition which is 
characteristic of certain other Lumbrici; many case, the two pouches 
of segments 8 and 9 appear to be an indication of a connection 
between the unusual disposition of the pouches in the present 
species and their more usual arrangement in Lumbricus generally, 
and in other earthworms ( i.e ., situated in the anterior region of the 
segment, and opening in the groove between this segment and the 
one in front). 
I have, therefore, been able to show in the present paper that a 
* This is not, however, invariably the case. In some individuals the 
spermathecse are, as in the present species, placed near to the posterior wall of 
the segment which contains them; in other individuals, possibly different 
species, the spermatheca, as in the majority of earthworms, is placed nearer to 
the anterior wall of the segment. This may prove to be a difference of specific 
importance. I find that this variation exists in the figures of other observers. 
Lankester {Quart. Jour. Micr. Sci., 1865) figures the two spermathecse as 
lying by the anterior wall of their segments (9 and 10), and opening in the 
groove between each of those segments and the one in front. On the other 
hand, Hering {Zeitsch. f. Wiss. Zool. , 1857) states that the spermathecse are 
situated in 9 and 10, and open between 9-10 and 10-11. D’Udekem {Mem. 
Cour. d. 1. Acad. roy. de Brux ., 1856) figures and describes a disposition of the 
spermathecse identical with that observed by Hering. 
Note added May 15, 1886. — A paper by Dr Rosa, “ I lumbricidi del Pie- 
monte,” which I had overlooked in writing the above, has come into my hands 
through the kindness of the author. L. complanatus is described in this paper 
under the name of Allolobophora complanata ; the author, however, does not 
mention the diverticula of the spermathecse, nor is there any indication of 
them in his figure ; if the presence of these should ultimately prove to be a 
specific character, I would propose to name my species Lumbricus {Alio- 
lophora) rosce, after the Italian naturalist. I notice also that in this paper 
the position of the spermathecse in the anterior or posterior region of the seg- 
ment is used as a specific character. The specimen described in the present 
paper shows how the change of position of the spermathecse is brought about. 
