OCR Text |
Show 1895.] MR. F. E. BEDDARD ON NEW EARTHWORMS. 219 The setae are strictly paired anteriorly; posteriorly they diverge slightly from each other, as is the case with Acanthodrilus platy-urus; but the divergence is by no means so marked as iu that species. The clitellum occupies segments xiii.-xvi. The dorsal pores are quite obvious, commencing at any rate on xii./xiii. The gizzard occupies two segments, vi. and vii., the septum being present. The septa dividing segments viii./xii. are thickened, but not much. The last heart is in segment xii. The sperm-sacs, as in so very many species, are in xi., and racemose. The spermathecae are longish and of a reddish colour; the diverticulum is considerably shorter than the pouch. The spermiducal glands are not very long or much coiled ; they are also reddish in colour. The penial setae are brown, a colour which is, according to m y experience, rare in Acanthodrilus. Their form hardly differs from that of Acanthodrilus platyurus. Hab. St. 39, Teja Island, Valdivia. This species is clearly a close ally of Acanthodrilus platyurus. The most ready way of distinguishing them is by the form of the spermathecae. If it were not for the different position of the last heart I should have been inclined to regard the present species as merely a variety of Acanthodrilus platyurus. Three specimens from St. 48, Corral, appear to belong to the same species, but they are very much paler in colour. The spermathecae have the same red colour and its diverticulum is similar. Possibly a larger series of specimens would allow of the separation of the two forms. (8) Acanthodrilus cingulatus, n. sp. Of this species five or six individuals were collected by Dr. Michaelsen. The largest of them-the only one that was fully mature- measured 58 m m . in length by 4 m m . in diameter; the number of segments 106. The worm is darkly pigmented, but the colour is more brown than pui*ple. The setae are strictly paired and do not show any signs of divergence from each other at the tail end of the body. The prostomium is continued by furrows over the buccal segment. The clitellum is unusually far back for the American members of this genus ; it extends from segment xiv.-xviii. inclusive. Dorsal pores are obvious. There is a large gizzard in segments vi., vii. The spermathecae are oval pouches with a smallish diverticulum not one-half of the length of the pouch. |