55 



fangs at their tip, whereas in the typical L. prodticta even the spines of the 7''' segment 

 are not barbed. In the median body region according to Mc Intosh the median spines appear 

 to have simple extremities, that are minutely nodulated ; however in our specimens these me- 

 dian bristles are also provided vvith fangs and their tips are not simple, but furnished with three 

 points, a main spear-tip and a spine at the anterior and posterior side (PI. XIII, fig. 2). The 

 long golden spines of an elytron-bearing segment extend themselves backward over three succee- 

 ding elytra, therefore over seven segments, whereas Mc Intosh only speaks of the succeeding 

 scale. The spines are preceded by a small fascicle of simple, capillary, slightly bent bristles, 

 that are longitudinally striated. This fascicle is much larger in the cirrus-bearing segments, 

 whereas the spines, though also glochidiate, are usually half as long as those of the elytron- 

 bearing segments. 



Though this species is principally found in the neighbourhood of the Kerguelen Islands 

 in rather shallow water (not below 1 20 fath.), there were also specimens dredged in more 

 northern regions; f. i. the variety JJ'vvil/ci Mc Intosh was met with by the Challenger expe- 

 dition between the Antarctic and Australia in a depth of 3500 m. '). Afterwards Miss Buchax.\x-) 

 recognized in the British Museum a specimen, coming from Japan and dredged at a depth of 

 43 fth. Also von Marenzfxlek ^) had the opportunity to examine two specimens from Eno-sima 

 (coUected b\- Doderlein) from a depth of 300 m. and an other large specimen met with by 

 HiLGENDORF in the vicinity of Hakodate : the last-named specimen had only 1 8 elytra, but the 

 glochideal spines were provided with 5 to 6 opposite fangs. In my opinion it therefore needs 

 not excite astonishment that Miss Buchanan among the Polychaeta, dredged in the deep sea 

 off the West coast of Ireland (500 m. ), met with four specimens, nearly allied to L. prodncta ; 

 for, as already observed by Ehlers*) and Fauvel") several species of Annelida, living in the 

 littoral regions of the Arctic and Antarctic continent, are also met with in the depths of the 

 Tropical Atlantic, where they find about the same temperature. The Ireland-specimens, distin- 

 guished besides by the absence of eyes, by the presence of a smaller number of segments (43 

 to 44) and a great deal of variation with regard to the length of the palps, are afterwards 

 described by Mc Intosh as belonging to the variet}- brittaiiica. Though none of both authors 

 mentions the exact number of the elytra, I cannot accept Marenzeller's opinion, that the 

 specimens should belong to the sphere of varieties of L. filicornü. Unfortunately there reigns 

 a good deal of controversy among Annelidologists with regard to the species and varieties 

 of this genus; f. i. von Marenzeller rightly reproaches Mc Intosh, that in describing the rich 

 material of the Challenger expedition, he considers Laetmonice filicornis as a constant, nearly 

 invariable species, whereas L. producta is regarded by him to be very variable. Now examining 

 the descriptions of different authors, we meet with two well characterized species : Laetmonice 

 filicornis especially from Northern and Lactni. producta from Southern seas. L. filicornis rea- 



1) Loc. cit. p. 44, PI. YII, fig. 3; PI. IV.-^, figs. 9— li. 



2) Report on Polychaets coll. during the R. Dublin Soc. survey off the Weit-coast of Ireland, Sc. Proc. Royal Dublin Society, 

 Vol. VlU (N. S.) 1893, p. 169. 



3) Südjap. Anneliden, lil, 1902, p. 4. 



4) Beitrage zur Kenntniss der Verticalverbreitung der Borstenwiirmer im Meere. 



5) Annél. polychètos de San Thomé: Arch. Zool. Expérim. t. 54, 1914, p. ill. 



