WORMS AND POLYZOA 79 



but one might pardonably imagine that worms, terrestrial 

 or aquatic, would commend themselves to none but the 

 starving. A near relative of a British worm, however, 

 is not merely edible, but a highly-prized delicacy in certain 

 islands of the South Pacific. The Palolo Worm is one 

 of the few marine animals whose movements can be 

 relied upon to take a certain course on a given day and at 

 a certain hour. Throughout most of the year the worm 

 hides in holes or crevices amongst the rocks and coral 

 masses of the sea-bed. But for two days in October and 

 again in November — on the day before and the day on 

 which the moon is in its last quarter, the worms appear 

 at the sea surface in such numbers that the water appears 

 to be literally solid with them. The swarms are at their 

 maximum on the second day of each moon, but it is not the 

 whole worm which thus appears, but only the hinder 

 portion of the worm which is heavily charged with the 

 reproductive element. It has now been established that 

 on a certain day all the worms obtrude the hinder parts 

 of their bodies from their various hiding places and these 

 break away and wriggle to the surface, the head portion 

 of the worm creeping back to the burrow. The egg 

 sperm masses being varied in colour many square miles 

 of sea are tinted red, brown, gold, green and indigo. 

 The appearance of these egg masses, so important to the 

 continuance of the palolo race, produces a striking effect 

 upon the humans in the vicinity. The natives, knowing 

 the appointed hour each day, put out to sea with specially- 

 constructed baskets, and the worms being scooped up 

 in these are hurried ashore and rushed to all parts of the 

 islands, since they must be eaten fresh. European 



