THE WORMS 69 
rim with the opening in the centre. The body of the worm is dull 
flesh colored with two rows of bristles on the sides of each segment. 
[t is not more than eight inches long and one-half an inch wide 
near the head, but it tapers gradually from this point, the posterior 
end being still quite blunt. The head end is provided with three 
pairs of blood-red, tree-like gills, and a large number of pale flesh- 
colored tentacles which are constantly expanding and contracting, 
and by means of which the worm captures the minute creatures 
upon which it feeds. These tentacles are also used to gather parti- 
cles of sand or mud with which to construct the tube. The body 
of the worm remains within the tube with the head near the open 
end, while the tentacles spread out over the ground in all direc- 
tions. It is abundant from Cape Cod to New Jersey. 
The Blood-Spot, (Polycirrus eximius, Pig. 41), is not more than 
four inches long, and lives in our sandy beaches immediately below 
low water mark. The 
forward half of the 
body is blood-red and . 
thick, while the hind- ~— Ae } 
er part is dull flesh- 
colored and_ slender. ee ~ 
Each segment of the Ri 
4 
forward half of the 
body is provided with 


—_ 
a pair of branched 
gills, while the sur- 
face of the hinder part 
is smooth and has no 
gills. The most 
marked characteristic 
of this worm, howev- 
er, is the great cluster 
of blood-red tentacles 
surrounding the Fig. 41; BLOOD-SPOT WORM. 
mouth. These are con- 
stantly expanding and contracting as the blood flows through them. 
The Shell Worm, (Serpula dianthus, Fig. 42), is common along 
our coast. It secretes a crooked, stony, white tube upon the sur- 
