ELEGANT STRUCTURE OF BRANCHIAE. 293 



of their attempting the capture of living* prey : they 

 seem always readier to retreat than to advance, so 

 that the smallest and most defenceless creature might 

 apparently easily repel their attacks. 



Mutilation of the body is often produced by the 

 violent contortions of the Terebella when removed 

 from its tube. The tentacula also are frequently 

 broken off, either by force or accident ; yet even when 

 thus separated they continue for a long time to give 

 indications of vitality, and the animal seems so little 

 affected by the occurrence, that its labours are not 



/ 



only continued, but commenced under such privations ; 

 nevertheless slight injuries often prove fatal, espe- 

 cially in hot weather. Whenever the body acquires 

 a greenish tinge, all attempts at preserving the speci- 

 men may be considered hopeless. 



The branchiae of the Terebella are exceedingly 

 beautiful : in the species under consideration they are 

 so complex and luxuriant; they abound in such nu- 

 merous points, angles and curvatures; their shades 

 and intensity of colour, and the alternations of their 

 shape are so variable, that few objects are more ele- 

 gant or more interesting to behold, or more difficult 

 to render intelligible by description ; suffice it to say, 

 that during the life of the animal, the motion, the 

 enlargement, the reduction and spiral twisting of 

 these branchiae, singly or collectively, are perpetual ; 

 but the instant cessation of these movements, followed 

 by speedy disfiguration and decay, are concomitant 

 on the death of the animal. 



The eggs of the Terebella are found enclosed in :i 

 gelatinous mass, generally fixed to the entrance of the 



