W. N. F. Woodland 
339 
(slightly less than that of the prosoma) and is shorter. Succeeding annuli are 
smaller and very gradually diminish in size to the posterior extremity, the 
terminal annuli being about two-thirds the diameter of the anterior annuli. 
The anal “segment” is about twice as long as the penultimate annulus, 
though of the same diameter. The prosoma bears at its anterior end on the 
ventral surface the usual four chitinous hooks (curved, elongated, acute) and 
the small median sub-terminal mouth. Anus terminal. Habitat: “fore-gut” 
of Cobra (Naja sp.?), Ilaro, South Nigeria. The type-specimen is a female, 
preserved in the collection of the Wellcome Bureau of Scientific Research. 
I may remark that I could not observe any “stigmata” (orifices of epi¬ 
dermal glands) on the surface of the skin, nor papillae; nor could I make out 
the position of the female genital aperture, though, judging from appearances 
when the specimen was cleared in creosote, it is probably situated ventrally 
near the anus. The drawing of the chitinous hook was made from the creosote- 
cleared specimen, but the precise outline of the basal fulcrum and process was 
not very easy to observe. The creosote also revealed hundreds of eggs contained 
in the uterus extending from the sixth annulus back to the anus. Since it is 
desired to keep intact this one specimen of P. pomeroyi (the only specimen at 
present known to exist), I am unable to describe the internal anatomy, but 
this I hope to do should additional specimens be forthcoming. 
The External Features of a small Male Specimen of 
Porocephalus (pomeroyi 'l) from the same Cobra. 
Text-figure 1 (B, B') shows the more general external characters of this 
small specimen, obtained from the same Cobra, and in close juxtaposition to 
the female Porocephalus pomeroyi just described. The entire body measured 
12 mm. in length and consisted of the small conical prosoma bearing the 
usual hooks and mouth, and 37 annuli (not clearly indicated in the figure), 
including the small pointed anal “segment.” The body is slightly flattened in 
the region of the first ten annuli. The hooks are as shown in the figure. When 
cleared in creosote the specimen was seen to be a mature male. The male aper¬ 
ture was situated anteriorly and ventrally at the level of the third annulus. 
In general characters and in size the specimen somewhat resembles the 
figure of Porocephalus aonyces Macalister, provided by Shipley ( loc. cit. Text- 
figure 6), but is probably not identical with that species, which is parasitic 
in the peritoneal cavity of the large Indian Otter (Aonyx cinerea), is 17-20 mm. 
in length (sex supposed to be female) and has 30 annuli. 
On the Possible Relationship between the two Specimens of 
Porocephalus above described. 
Mr Pomeroy remarks in his letter concerning these two specimens of 
I orocephalus that they seem to be in coitu ”—a suggestion which I presume 
was based on the facts that they were of opposite sexes and that they were 
in close proximity in the “fore-gut of the Cobra. Other evidence in favour 
