250 
FRANK £. BEDDARD. 
in the receptaculum, while the large mature ova pass from the 
ovary directly into the oviduct. 
The mature ova of Allurus and perhaps of Uro- 
chaeta differ from those of the majority of Earth- 
worms, and agree with those of the “ Limicolse,” in 
the fact that they are of comparatively large size. 
The only other Earthworm known to me, in which the ova 
are of large size, is Allurus. Fig. 22 of PI. XXIY illustrates 
the comparative size of the mature ova of a number of Earth- 
worms and ofPhreoryctes. It will be seen from that figure 
that the ova of Allurus are markedly larger than those of 
Eudrilus, &c., though smaller than the supposed ova of Uro- 
chaeta. This fact is of particular interest in relation to other 
points in the structure and economy of Allurus. This worm, 
although structurally nearer to Allolobop bora than to any 
other Oligochset, is not terrestrial ; at least, not exclusively 
terrestrial in its habits. I received some specimens from 
Teneriffe which were collected in company with a number of 
specimens of Lumbricus and Allolobophora in soil; 
on the other hand, Mr. Martin Woodward was so good as to 
forward me a specimen of Allurus, which he discovered in a 
vessel containing Char a which had been collected for the 
use of the botanical students at the School of Science, South 
Kensington. There was no reason to believe that this indi- 
vidual had accidentally found its way into the vessel ; it had 
been in all probability collected in the stream which furnished 
the Char a. Mr. Benham has lately contributed to ‘ Nature’ 
a note in which he points out that Allurus is largely aquatic 
in its habits. 1 It is interesting to find that this particular 
genus approximates to the “ Limicolse ” in its habits ; indeed, 
it is the only instance known to me of an aquatic Earthworm, 
though of course many of the “ Limicolae” live in damp soil. 
1 Since writing the above I find that Vejdovsky in his paper upon 
Rhynchelmis (‘ Zeitschr. f. wiss. Zool.,’ 187G) has mentioned the occurrence 
of Allurus in streams. During a recent visit to the Plymouth Station of the 
Marine Biological Association 1 found Allurus in abundance among coarse 
gravel in the lliver Plym, near Bickleigh. 
