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bulletin: museum of comparative zoology. 



move sluggishly about, but usually made no effort at concealment. 



Similar masses were met with under 

 stones in very muddy localities, and 

 often where tlie water was very brackish. 

 This is probably the most abundant spe- 

 cies of neraertean on the Alaska coast, 

 and is found nearer high-water mark 

 and in more brackish water than almost 

 any other species. 



Stimpson ('57) records it from San 

 Francisco, and Griffin ('98, p. 207) found 

 it at West Berkeley, California, Port 

 Town send, Wash., and Alaska, but con- 

 sidered it distinct from E. gracile. In 

 the National Museum is a portion of a 

 large individual from San P^rancisco, 

 and nearly 40 specimens of small size 

 collected by Dr. Dall at Unalaska 

 Island. After having been in alcohol 

 for many years these specimens still 

 show their characteristic form and 

 coloring. 



The species is very common at Pacific 

 Grove, California, where it occurs near 

 the Hopkins Laboratory among mussels 

 on large rocks fully exposed to the surf. 

 Its known range on the Pacific coast is, 

 therefore, from Monterey Bay, Cali 

 fornia, along the coast of British Co- 

 lumbia and the whole Pacific coast of Alaska to the Aleutian 

 Islands. 



It has also been recorded from the coasts of England, from the 

 northern shores of Germany and France, from the Mediterranean 

 coasts, and from Madeira. The most widely distant of these locali- 

 ties are separated by about half the circumfei-ence of the globe, but 

 the form has not yet been found anywhere on the east coast of 

 America. Isler (: 01) records the species from Chile. 



Fig. 32.— Emplectonema gracile 

 Stylet apparatus of proboscis. 



