Z. THE WORMS. 



233. THE ANNELIDS. 



THE MARINE WORMS, BAIT WORMS, ETC. NEREIS VIRENS, Sars, AND ALLIED SPECIES. 



Marine Worms of many different kinds occur in great abundance along the entire Atlantic 

 and Pacific coasts of the United States, and are available as bait, for which purpose a few species 

 are frequently employed by both professional and amateur fishermen. They are generally easily 

 obtained by digging with a spade or trowel into sandy or muddy shores, but are not common on 

 exposed beaches of clear sand. They usually require for theii' existence a greater or less 

 admixture of mud, gravel, and organic matter, the latter to serve as food. Shores which furnish 

 the common clam (Mya arenaria) usually abound in Marine Worms of several varieties, which are 

 overturned in digging for that inollusk. So far as we know, there is no regular trade in this 

 marine product on any part of -our coast; but occurring as they do within the convenient reach of 

 most of the shore fishermen, these Worms may be obtained at short notice, and deserve mention 

 here as forming an element of some importance in our marine fisheries. The following account of 

 the habits of Marine Worms in general and of some of our commoner species is extracted from 

 the report of Prof. A. B. Verrill: 1 



"The Marine Worms or Annelids are very numerous under the rocks between tides, and 

 concealed beneath the surface of the gravel and mud that accumulates between and beneath the 

 stones and in crevices. Many kinds also live in the pools, lurking among the roots of the 

 algse, burrowing in the bottom, or building tubes of their own in more exposed situations. Many 

 of these Annelids are very beautiful in form and brilliant in color when living, while most of them 

 have curious habits and marvelous structures. Several species are of large size, growing to the 

 length of one or two feet. Some are carnivorous, devouring other worms and any other small 

 creatures that they can kill by their powerful weapons ; others are vegetarians ; but many are 

 mud-eaters, swallowing the mud and fine sand in great quantities, for the sake of the animal and 

 vegetable organisms that always exist in it, as is the case with clams and most of the bivalve 

 shells and many other kinds of marine animals. 



" All these Annelids are greedily devoured by most kinds of marine fishes, whenever they can 

 get at them, and, since many of the Annelids leave their burrows in the night to swim at the 

 surface, or do this constantly at the breeding season, they make an important element in the diet 

 of many fishes besides those that constantly root for them in the mud and gravel, like the tautog, 

 scup, haddock, etc. The young of nearly all the Annelids also swim free in the water for a 

 considerable time, and in this state are doubtless devoured in immense numbers by all sorts of 

 young and small fishes. 



"One of the largest and most common Annelids found under rocks, burrowing in the sand 

 and gravel, is the Nereis virens. It lives both at low-water mark and at a considerable distance 

 farther up. It grows to the length of eighteen inches or more, and is also quite stout in its 

 proportions. The color is dull greenish, or bluish-green, more or less tinged with red, and the 

 surface reflects bright iridescent hues ; the large lamella? or gills along the sides are greenish 



1 Vineyard Sound Report, pp. 317, 318, 341, 342, 1871-'72. 



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