54 

 Genus Laetmonice Kinberg'). 



Distinguished froni Herniione especiall)- by the presence of a fringe of hairs at the 

 distal end of the ventral bristles. 



I. Laetmonice prodiuta Grube, var. PI. XIII, figs. i — 3. 



Grube, Annelideii Ausbcute von S. M. S. Gazelle, p. 512. 

 IzUKA, Erraiitiate Polychaeta of Japan. 



Stat. 45. 7° 24' Lat. S., 1 18° 15'. 2 Long. E. Depth of 794 M. 3 specimens. 

 Stat. 314. 7° 36' Lat. S., 1 17° 30.8 Long. E. Depth of 694 M. i specimen. 



In the neighbourhood of the Paternoster Islands, at a rather great depth, four specimens 

 of this huge, nice worm have been collected. The shape of their body (PI. XIII, fig. i) is 

 oblong fusiform, not much narrowing anteriorly and posteriorly ; it measures from 85 to 90 

 mm. in length, whereas the number of segments amounts to 48 or 49. The ventra! surface 

 is bluish grey, sparingly beset with small papillae ; however in two specimens it is covered 

 by a brownish coat, probably due to the presence of algae. Of the "many brownish cuti- 

 cular warts", mentioned by Mc Intosh, nothing could be seen. The area behind the mouth, 

 as usually, is longitudinally grooved. The dorsum is entirely covered by 20 pairs of opalescing, 

 imbricated elytra, arranged in the ordinary manner on the segments 2, 4, 5, 7 . . . . 23, 25, 

 28, 31, 34, 2^-,, 40, 43 and 46; the last pair of them has their median border somewhat con- 

 cave, leaving thus betvveen them an oval opening above the anus, that is situated dorsally 

 and surrounded by a folded wall. No dorsal feit exists. 



The cephalic lobe is oblong, with globular ocular peduncles, without eyes. The palps, 

 bent backward over the ventral side, extend to the 10''^ or 11* segment. 



The median antenna, with a short basal part and a clavate distal extremity, separated 

 from the main axis by a constriction, measures about a third of the length of the palps. 

 Of the multi-lobate process, behind the ocular peduncles, mentioned by Mc Intosh, no tracé 

 was visible. The tentacular cirri are not quite as long as the median antenna , both nearly 

 of the same length ; the ventral somewhat slenderer than the dorsal one. \\'ith regard to 

 the cirri and bristles the feet of our specimens show some differences from those of L. pro- 

 diicta, according to the description of Mc Intosh. The bristles of the notopodium of the 2^ 

 foot are all smooth, slender, slightly bent and setae with chitinous nodules on their shaft, 

 as figured in the Challenger report (PI. IV a, fig. 2), have not been ob.served ; in the neuro- 

 podium the upper division shows two of the powerful serrated bristles, figured by Mc Intosh 

 (PI. IV ^, fig. 3). In the 4''^ foot the notopodium contains a fan-shaped fascicle of stout bristles, 

 that are faintly bent and over their whole length beset with small nodules, especially near the 

 tip ; one of these bristles shows already some fangs at its distal extremity (PI. XIII, fig. 3). 

 lts neuropodium jiossesses some pinnate bristles as in the preceding feet, but in those, 

 .situated more backward, they are wanting. In the next segment (the 5''') all spines have 



l) Öfversigt Kongl. Vet. .\kad. Forhaiidl.. 1855, ji. 382. 



10 



