68 SEA-SHORE LIFE 
color, and about one foot in length. ‘They are so fragile that it is 
extremely difficult to dig them out unbroken. 
The Four-Jawed Worm, (Huglycera americana, Iig. 38), is a 
stout, active worm about one foot in length and one-quarter of an 

Fig. 39; 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. 69), is common 
in burrows in sandy or gravelly beaches at low water 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 
numerous near the head. These 
are the gills and, when expanded, 
they are often 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, ( Amphi- 
trite ornata, Fig. 40), 1s found in 

Fig. go. TUFTED WORM. 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 
