112 
PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS SECTION D. 
damp earth at the Bermudas, and was described by the late Dr. von 
Willemoes Suhm under the name Tetrastemma agricola. A third has 
been found in G-ermany, and named by Professor von Graff Geonemertes 
chalicophora. Its proper habitat is doubtful, as it seems very likely 
to have been introduced with exotic plants. A fourth occurs' in the 
Island of Bodriguez, and has been described by Mr. Gulliver under 
the name Tetrastemma rodericcinum. The fifth was discovered by 
myself in Australia, and named Geonemertes austral iensis ; while quite 
lately I have found a sixth species in New Zealand, for which I have 
proposed the name Geonemertes novce-zealandice. 
These remarkable little worms are in general appearance very 
similar to Land Planarians ; so much so that anyone but an expert is 
certain to mistake them for such. Thus I found my first two New 
Zealand specimens in two miscellaneous collections of Land Planarians 
preserved in spirits of wine, and even when I shortly afterwards found 
the same species alive under logs in the hush, I took the first specimen 
home under the impression that it was a Land Planariau. A little 
judicious irritation, however, very soon causes the animals to reveal 
their true nature iu a most unmistakable, and at first sight surprising, 
manner, for they suddenly discharge from an aperture at the anterior 
end a long white proboscis, sometimes as large as themselves, and 
then gradually withdraw it again into the body. This proboscis is 
certainly the most characteristic tiling about the Nemertine worms, 
and at once serves to distinguish them from the more lowly- organised 
Land Planarians, It is a very highly specialised organ, with a very 
elaborate nerve supply, and, in the subgroup Enopla, to which the 
terrestrial as well as many aquatic species belong, it is provided with 
a marvellously complex armature, consisting of a central calcareous 
stylet, a number of reserve stylets, whose function* appears to be to 
replace the central one when it is broken, and a poison gland, with 
reservoir and duct for applying the poisou to the stylet. 1 am not 
aware that anybody has yet observed how these animals use their 
complex weapon under ordinary circumstances, but there can be no 
doubt that it is a weapon of offence or defence, probably of service in 
capturing living prey, though what the nature of the prey is I do not 
know. 
The habits of LandNemertines are very similar to those of Land 
Planarians. They are found in the same situations, under logs and 
stones, and they move about in the same manner, by means of the 
cilia on the integument, assisted probably by the body muscles. So 
long as they are undisturbed they either lie quite still or crawl about 
with the proboscis entirely withdrawn inside the body, and it is only 
when they arc irritated that it is shot forth. The anterior end is 
richly provided with sense organs in the form of eyes and very complex 
ciliated pits, and is moved from side to side as the animal goes on its 
way. 
In the method of depositing their eggs the Land Nemertines, 
judging from the Australian species, in which alone it appears to have 
been observed, agree with some of their marine relatives and differ 
widely from the Land Planarians. The eggs are small and deposited 
* This function has lately been disputed by Mr. Montgomery (Zoologischer 
Anzeiger), but it is difficult to see any other explanation of their presence, and the 
balance of evidence still appears to me to be in favour of the older view. 
