150 COE 



was collected on a pile of wharf in San Diego Harbor. When handled 

 the worms exude an abundance of a milky mucus. 



Carcinonemertes Coe 

 American Naturalist, xxxvi, p. 440, 1902. 



Parasitic Nemerteans living on various species of Crustacea. Body 

 small, slender, often filiform, rounded, and of about the same diameter 

 throughout ; head without distinct lateral grooves, not demarcated from 

 body. Body not usually coiled or much twisted, but often folded sharply, 

 so that anterior portion of body lies parallel and in contact with pos- 

 terior portion. Mouth and proboscis open together ; esophagus ex- 

 tremely short, opening broadly into intestine through a large muscular 

 chamber situated immediately behind brain ; intestine broad, with short 

 lateral pouches which are but little developed in posterior portion of 

 body. 



Proboscis. Proboscis sheath without muscular walls, consisting 

 merely of a thin membrane closely applied to the small proboscis. Pro- 

 boscis but little developed, very small in size, and extremely short, with- 

 out lateral pouches of reserve stylets, but armed with central stylet and 

 basis only. Central stylet minute, basis small and slender. Stylet region 

 of proboscis can be withdrawn but little behind brain ; consequently 

 anterior chamber is very short, without distinct muscular layers, without 

 distinct nerves, and without a thickened glandular epithelium such as 

 occurs in almost all other Nemerteans. Chamber immediately behind 

 stylet small but muscular, and with a lining of flattened epithelium, 

 while posterior proboscidial cavity is very short, often almost spherical, 

 highly glandular, connected closely with the rudiments of the proboscis 

 sheath and embedded in the connective tissue which lies internal to the 

 body musculature. 



Ocelli two. Cerebral sense organs probably wanting. 



Cephalic glands massively developed ; a remarkable development of 

 submuscular glands extends throughout whole length of body, usually 

 forming a distinct layer internal to the muscular walls of body, and 

 often thicker than all other layers of body wall combined. 



Body musculature consists of a thin, oblique or circular muscular 

 layer and a somewhat thicker, but yet weak, longitudinal layer internal 

 to the former. 



Usually oviparous, though fertilization often takes place internally, 

 and sometimes a portion of the ova of an individual may be retained in 

 the body until after the development of free-swimming embryos. De- 

 velopment without complicated metamorphosis. 



