ART. III. - -Note on the Occurrence of the Genus Balanoglossus in New Zealand Waters. By Professor BENHAM, D.Sc., M.A., F.Z.S. [Read before the Otago Institute, 12th September, 1899.] ALTHOUGH an account of this new species of Balanoglossus has already been published in England,* it appears to be of sufficient interest to record its occurrence in a journal of wider distribution in New Zealand, since it is the first-recorded representative in our waters of a class of animals of considerable zoological interest. The genus Balanoglossus, together with a few other similar worm-like animals, constitutes a group of animals which is closely associated with the ancestors of the great vertebrate class, and nearly allied to the sea-squirts, or Ascidians, and to the Lancelets. This group of worm-like creatures is known to zoologists as Enteropneusta, or Hemichorda, and of this group only one species has hitherto been recorded from Australasian waters. A few years back (1893) a species-Ptychodera australiensis— was discovered by Mr. Hill, and the anatomy fully described.t But the type genus, Balanoglossus, had not been recorded from any part of the Southern Hemisphere till the discovery by Mr. Hamilton of the subject of the present note. We were pottering about the Otago Harbour, at Port Chalmers, in February, 1899, doing a little collecting, when Mr. Hamilton observed a small red worm creeping along a piece of kelp. He passed it over to me for examination, and on placing it in a bottle of water I was surprised and delighted to find that it was an Enteropneustic worm. Shortly afterwards we obtained a second and smaller worm, of a more orange colour. On returning to my laboratory I lost no time in submitting the worm to careful examination, with the result that I discovered it to be a new species of the genus Balanoglossus, to which I have given the name B. otagoensis. It may not be amiss to give a brief account of the external features of the worm, and to ask any member who is interested in natural history to keep a look out for it, and on finding it to place it, as soon as possible, in alcohol or other suitable preservative, and to forward it to me. The specimen was a mature female, coloured rich carminered, the anterior end having the deepest tint. The entire length of the animal when extended crawling is but 1 in.-quite a Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science," xlii., 1899. †T. P. Hill, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., 1895. small worm then, easily overlooked. The animal is softbodied, subcylindrical, without legs or feelers or appendages of any sort, without shell or other hard parts; but it is easily distinguished from ordinary marine worms in that the body presents the three following well-marked regions: (1) The anterior end of the body is an elongated cone, bluntly pointed at the tip, and fairly mobile (it is remarkable in this species for possessing a groove running along its dorsal surface); this "proboscis" is in life not quite in. long. Its base is surrounded by (2) a collar-like region of very short extent; and beyond this is (3) the body proper, tapering off posteriorly, but not ending in any definite tail. It is unnecessary for me to enter into any anatomical details-these will be found elsewhere; but I give an outline drawing of the worm to aid the above description. Outline Sketch of Balanoglossus otagoensis (× 4). 1. Proboscis, with dorsal groove. 2. Collar. 3. Body. ART. IV.-Notes on Macro-lepidoptera observed during the Summer of 1898-99. By G. V. HUDSON, F.E.S. [Read before the Wellington Philosophical Society, 12th September, 1899.] THE following notes refer to a few observations on Macrolepidoptera, which have been made since the publication of my book on New Zealand Moths and Butterflies." Dasypodia selenophora. This large and handsome insect was unusually common during the past summer. Several specimens were obtained in the Hutt Valley by Sir James Hector, and by Mr. Williams. A specimen was also found at Karori, where, so far as I am aware, the insect had never occurred previously, although I have worked the locality continuously since 1882. Last April I received a very fine specimen from Wanganui, and about the same time Mr. A. P. Buller informed me that he had taken a magnificent specimen near Featherston. Paradetis porphyrias. During a visit to Wainuiomata early last December I found this species quite commonly flying amongst the ferns which fringe the road on the northern side of the reservoir. Previously, the insect was only recorded from a few mountain localities in the South Island, so that its occurrence at Wainuiomata is very interesting. I, however, expected that the moth would prove to be more generally distributed than was at first supposed. ("New Zealand Moths and Butterflies," p. 41.) Asaphodes siris. Two specimens of this species have been taken near Wellington by Mr. Hawthorne since the publication of his description of the insect in vol. xxix. of the Transactions. The three specimens which are thus available exhibit no variations, and prove beyond all doubt the distinctness of the species. Selidosema fenerata. Early last February I succeeded for the first time in working out the life-history of this species. The larva, which was discovered feeding on macrocarpa, is very handsome. Its length when full grown is about 1 inch. The general colour is vivid green, with shining white markings. There is a broad lateral line, with an interrupted line above it; a series of large crescentic marks down the back, with a white dash in the middle of each; two interrupted subventral white lines. The head is green, with a rusty-brown mark on each side. This larva is very inconspicuous amongst the foliage of the Macrocarpa, and its colouring is evidently protective. Originally its food-plant was probably rimu, amongst the foliage of which the caterpillar's remarkable colouring would probably be equally efficient for protective purposes. The pupa is concealed about 1 inch below the surface of the earth. The perfect insects emerged towards the end of March; but in a state of nature S. fenerata is found during most of the year. Azelina fortinata. In December last this species was extremely abundant at Wainuiomata, frequenting clumps of Lomaria (?), a fern which occurred plentifully in many parts of the forest above the reservoir. I have always noticed this insect attached to this particular fern, and I expect that its larva feeds thereon; but, although I spent some hours in searching, I was unable to find any specimens of the larva. Many of the fronds were eaten, and very probably a careful examination of the ferns during the latter end of October or beginning of November would result in the discovery of the larva. The perfect insect was about at the time of my visit, therefore it was possibly a month or six weeks too late in the season for the larva to be found. Declana floccosa. In October, 1897, I captured in my garden at Karori a specimen of this insect, with the central band of the forewings unusually broad and extremely dark in colour. It is quite a new variety to me, and differs considerably from any of the numerous varieties of D. floccosa which I have previously described and figured. (See "New Zealand Moths and Butterflies," p. 96.) Sphinx convolvuli. On the 15th January last Sir James Hector kindly sent me some larvæ of this handsome insect. It is an extremely difficult caterpillar to rear, and I have only succeeded in bringing one specimen to the pupa state, and it is doubtful whether even this specimen will ever give rise to a moth. The larvæ appear to have been plentiful in the neighbourhood of Picton during last summer. As a rule S. convolvuli is not found southward of Napier and New Plymouth, although it is occasionally common in the more northern districts. Vanessa itea. This insect was extremely abundant during the past autumn. At Easter the weather was exceptionally fine and mild, and I observed many specimens of this beautiful butterfly in my garden at Karori. It was then certainly quite as common as Vanessa gonerilla. During the same holidays a very fine series of over a dozen specimens of V. itea was taken by Miss Blair on the flowers of a heliotrope in her garden in Grant Road, which series I have much pleasure in exhibiting before the Society this evening. Mr. Powles has also observed this butterfly in large numbers in his garden, and I think that the past season will be remembered as the "itea" year, by every one in Wellington who is interested in butterflies. Porina characterifera. Of this rare and beautiful species I captured one very fine specimen at Kaitoke on the 9th November last. It was resting with closed wings on the moss-covered trunk of a birch-tree, where it was extremely difficult to see. Although I spent fully two hours examining other tree-trunks in the vicinity, I did not succeed in finding any others. ART. V.-Note on the Fresh-water Crayfishes of New Zea land. By CHARLES CHILTON, M.A., D.Sc., M.B., C.M., F.L.S., Research Fellow, University of Edinburgh. [Read before the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury, 6th October, 1899.] SOME years ago I published a paper on "The Distribution and Varieties of the Fresh-water Crayfish of New Zealand."* My collection was deposited in the Dunedin Museum, and shortly afterwards the whole collection, together with some additional specimens afterwards collected, was, with the kind consent of the late Professor T. J. Parker, forwarded to Professor Walter Faxon, of Cambridge, U.S.A., for use in the preparation of the second part of his "Revision of the Astacida," which was to treat of the South Hemisphere genera of fresh-water crayfish. Unfortunately, the material at his command did not include sufficient specimens from Australia, Tasmania, and South America to enable him to complete a satisfactory revision of the Parastacine as a whole, but such results as he could obtain he has recently published in the "Proceedings of the United States National Museum," and in this paper he deals pretty fully with the New Zealand crayfishes. As his work may not be accessible to many in New Zealand, I have thought it well to give a short account of his results here, especially as on one point they differ somewhat from my own. Faxon divides the crayfishes of New Zealand into three species, viz.: (1) Paranephrops planifrons, White; (2) Paranephrops zealandicus, White; (3) Paranephrops setosus, Hutton. I had considered the last two species as merely varieties of a single species, which I described in my paper under the name P. neo-zelanicus, and I there mentioned most of the points of difference which Faxon relies upon for the separation of the two species, and so long as these are recorded and recognised it matters little whether we divide the specimens into two species or two varieties of one species. Professor Faxon has, however, had such great experience in dealing with species of crayfishes that it will probably be wise to follow him in recognising P. zealandicus and P. setosus as separate species, especially as the two names have already been used. * Trans. N.Z. Inst., xxi., pp. 237-252, plate x. Proc. U. S. National Museum, vol. xx., pp. 643-694, with plates lxii.-lxx. |