EUNICIDAE 147 



Diopatra punctifera, Ehlers. 



Ehlers, 1908, p. 79, pi. x, figs. i-ii. 

 Monro, 1930, p. 124, fig. 44 «, b. 



Occurrence. St. WS 4 (numerous). 



Specific characters. These specimens are merely additional to those discussed by 

 me under this heading in 1930. The occipital tentacles reach back to the 4th or 5th 

 chaetiger. The gills begin at the 5th chaetiger, reach their maximum size at the 6th or 

 7th, maintain this maximum for about the following four or five chaetigers and then 

 rapidly diminish in size. They disappear between the 40th and 50th chaetigers. The 

 ventral cirrus ceases at the 5th or 6th chaetiger. The anterior pseudo-compound bristles 

 are bidentate. The comb-chaetae are very delicate and have their sides curved inwards. 

 There are between 15 and 20 short teeth. The subacicular bristles appear between the 

 loth and 15th chaetigers. 



The dental formula is 7—8:7 + 6—9. The heavy black lower jaw-plates are as 

 figured by me {loc. cit. fig. 44 b). 



Remarks. The question arises whether this species is identifiable with D. neapolitana, 

 Delle Chiaje. I am inclined to keep it apart on the ground of the relative shortness of 

 the tentacles, which in these numerous specimens at least appear to be consistently 

 shorter than those in ?teapolifa?ia, and on the ground of the heavy, black lower jaw-plates, 

 which are very different from those of neapolitana. On the other hand, it should be 

 added that they also differ from those originally described by Ehlers for D . punctifera . 



Diopatra sp. 

 Occurrence. St. 149 (2). 



Specific characters. Two young and rather ill-preserved specimens, the larger of 

 which measures 20 mm. by 2 mm. for about 50 chaetigers. As far as can be seen from 

 the rather poor material, they differ from the specimens oi punctifera only in the fol- 

 lowing particulars. The occipital tentacles are relatively much longer and reach back 

 to about the loth chaetiger, the gills do not maintain their maximum size so far back 

 on the body, diminishing more rapidly and ceasing about the 30th chaetiger, and the 

 lower jaw-plates are slender and lightly chitinized. In fact I can find nothing to separate 

 these specimens from D. neapolitana, but as I believe this to be the first record of a 

 Diopatra from Antarctic waters and as the material is very scanty I am unwilling so far 

 to extend the range of neapolitana. 



Remarks. Fauvel (1933, p. 28) has contributed a valuable article on Diopatra in 

 which he shows that the number of teeth on the comb-chaetae is of little, if any, value 

 as a specific differential. We must, however, remain in the dark in regard to Diopatra 

 until a revision has been made of the seven species described by Kinberg (1857, pp. 

 38-9). Of these, as far as my knowledge goes, the Australian D. dentata is the only one 

 that has been redescribed with reference to the type (Augener, 1922, p. 37). I have 

 recently (1933 and 1934) attributed specimens from the Panama Region and from China 

 to D. dentata, basing my distinction from neapolitana on the fact that the branchiae 



