84 Mr. Montagu's Description of Murine Animals 



Nereis octentacuiata. 



Body depressed, red, with two long, and six short, red setace- 

 ous tcntacula: eyes four, one pair placed behind the other: along 

 the back a purple line, with a yellow spot at each joint : seg- 

 ments between eighty and ninety, with as many peduncles and 

 fasciculi on each side. 



Length, three inches; breadth, rather more than one eighth of 

 an inch, but less at the posterior end. 



Found with the preceding, and equally rarev 



# 



AsTERIAS BRACIIIATA, 



Body roundish, or sub-pentangular, covered above with small 

 oval scales disposed in ten alternate broad and narrow rays ; the 

 smaller rays rather conic, terminating between two oblong smooth 

 plates, placed at the junction of each arm : the arms are five in 

 number, extremely long and slender, very gradually decreasing 

 to their ends : each of these is composed of between three and 

 four hundred articulations, which appear like so many smooth 

 scales above and beneath ; the sides are furnished with very small 

 moveable spines, eight or nine in a row, at every joint ; the scales 

 near the body beneath are bisulcated longitudinally; and the 

 arms at that part run quite to the centre or mouth ; which is a 

 small cinquefoil, and appears to be formed of four little plates 

 regularly placed at each angle : on the body, between the arms, 

 the surface is rough, with minute papillae : colour, Avhen alive, 

 purplish broAvn, and sometimes blueish ash colour. 



Diameter of the body, scarce half an inch; length of the arms, 

 from seven to eight inches, making in all an extent of about six- 

 teen inches, or four feet in circumference. One in my cabinet, 

 r whose 



