68 



SEA-SHORE LIFE 



color, and about one foot in length. Tiiey are so fragile that it is 

 extremely diliicult to dig them out unbroken. 



The Four-Jawed Worm, (Euglycera americana, Fi<j. 38), is a 

 stout, active worm about one foot in length and one-quarter of an 



Pig, jp; FRINGED WORM. Long Island Sound. 



inch wide. The side appendages are small, and function more as 

 gills than as feet. The worm resembles a reddish, iridescent earth- 

 worm with a thick body, sharply pointed at both ends. When 

 disturbed it everts its throat, shooting out a balloon-shaped pro- 

 boscis which is armed with black teeth situated at the four 

 corners of a square. It is a remarkably active worm, and is pro- 

 vided with powerful muscles so that it burrows through the sand 

 very rapidly, and is common in our beaches between tide limits. 

 The Fringed Worm, (Cirratulus grandis, Fig. 39), is common 

 in burrows in sandy or gravelly beaches at low Avater mark. The 

 body is dull brownish-yellow, tapering to a point at both ends, 

 but a large number of long, red or orange colored threads arise 



from the sides, being especially 

 numeroiis near the head. These 

 are the gills and, when expanded, 

 they are ofteii as long as the body 

 itself, and are thrust out into the 

 water above the worm, which 

 lies safely hidden within its tube- 

 like burrow. When the gills are 

 broken off they squirm about and 

 remain alive for several days. 



The Tufted Worm, ( AmyU- 

 Lrite oniata, Fig. 40), is found in 

 muddy beaches near low tide lev- 

 el, where it constructs a U-shaped 

 tube of mud particles aglutinated together with mucous. The 

 mud around the opening of the tube is heaped up into a crater-like 



Fig. ^o. TTFTEU WORM. 



