JUN 12 1900 
No. 1.— An Atlantic “ Palolo,” Staurocephalus gregaricus. 
By ALFRED GOLDSBOROUGH MAYER. 
Durine the summers of 1898 and 1899 I was acting as assistant to 
Dr. Alexander Agassiz in making a study of Medusz at Loggerhead 
Key, one of the Tortugas Islands, Florida; and it was while thus en- 
gaged that the remarkable breeding habits of the worm about to be 
described were observed. 
It gives me pleasure to express my appreciation of the generous kind- 
ness of Dr. Agassiz, to whose permission I owe the privilege of publish- 
ing this paper. 
It is also a pleasure to remember the constant interest and kindness 
of George R. Billbury, Esq., head keeper of the lighthouse at Loggerhead 
Key, who did everything in his power to further the scientific work, and 
to render my stay at the Tortugas enjoyable. 
I also wish to thank Major J. E. Sawyer, U. S. A., who kindly 
allowed the use of the government steamer, ‘“ George W. Childs,” in 
transporting me and my apparatus to and fro from Key West to the 
Dry Tortugas. 
The worm about to be described in this paper appears to possess 
breeding habits so closely similar to those of the well-known Palolo 
worm ? of the South Pacific that I am inspired to give to it the title of 
the Atlantic “Palolo.” Our Atlantic ‘ Palolo,’’ however, is a new 
species of the genus Staurocephalus, and is therefore quite distinct 
from the Palolo or Bololo worm (Palolo viridis, Gray ; Lysidice viridis, 
Collin) of Samoa and Fiji, that swarms in vast numbers, for breeding 
purposes, upon the surface of the ocean, early in the morning of the 
days of the last quarter of the October and November moons. 
1 Tt is not the purpose of this paper to discuss the habits of the Pacific Palolo. 
Good scientific accounts of its wonderful swarming habit may be obtained from 
the writings of S. J. Whitmee, 1875; W. C. McIntosh, 1885; A. Collin, 1897; 
B. Friedlander, 1898; and A. Agassiz, 1898. See “ Bibliography” at the end of 
this paper. 
VOL. XXXVI.— NO. I. 1 
