INVERTEBEATE ANIMALS OF VINEYARD SOUND, ETC. 323 



around to the sides, open upward by a free extremity ; tliey also fre- 

 quently occur in sheltered nooks in the tide-pools. The worm, when un- 

 disturbed, puts out a beautiful wreath of branchiae somewhat resembling 

 that of the Serjmla, but there is no operculum. The branchiiiB are always 

 beautifully colored, though the colors are quite variable. In one of the 

 commonest styles of coloration, the branchiie are surrounded at base 

 with reddish brown ; above this with a ring of white ; next by a band 

 of reddish brown ; then for the terminal half the color is yellowish gray, 

 with indistinct blotches of brown ; on the outer sides of the branchiiB 

 there are one to three dark red eyes. There are ten or more branchiae 

 in each half of the wreath, and they are longer on one side than on the 

 other. 



Another related species, the Sahellamicrophthalma V., also occasionally 

 occurs in the pools and on the under sides of stones, constructing tubes 

 very much like those of the last species. This is a much shorter and 

 stouter worm, with the branchial wreath relatively much larger and 

 nearly half as long as the body. The branchiie are pale yellowish, 

 greenish, or tlesh-color, with numerous transverse bands of darker green 

 extending to the pinna? ; on the outer side of the brauchite there are 

 numerous minute eye-like spots of dark brown, arranged in two rows on 

 each. The body is usually dull olive-green. The Fabricia Leidyi V., is 

 another member of this group of worms, but is of very minute size. It 

 constructs delicate, flexible tubes, free toward the end, which usually 

 stands upright. Its tubes may be found in the pools and on the under 

 side of stones. The worm itself is very small, slender, and when un- 

 disturbed protrudes a wreath, composed of six branchiae, to a considera- 

 ble distance above the mouth of the tube. The branchine have five 

 to seven pinnte on each side, the lowest much the longest, so that when 

 expanded they all reach nearly to one level. At the base of the bran- 

 chioe there are two pulsating vesicles, alternating in their beats ; and 

 just back of these there are two minute brown eye-specks ; two similar 

 eyes exist at the posterior end. Eleven segments of the body bear fas- 

 cicles of sette. Color yellowish white, the blood-vessels red. 



Two or more species of the minute but beautiful worms belonging to 

 the genus Spirorhis are found attached to the fronds of sea- weeds, to 

 shells, stones, &c., especially in the pools. These are related to the 

 Serpula, and like it form solid calcareous tubes, but these are always 

 coiled up in a close spiral, and the coil is attached by one side. The 

 little worms put out an elegant wreath of branchiic, and are furnished 

 with an operculum. Another very interesting and beautifully colored 

 worm, sometimes found under and among the stones, where there is 

 mud, is the Cistenides Gouldii V., (Plate XVII, figs. 87, 87«.) This 

 constructs very remarkable, conical, free tubes, of grains of sand ar- 

 ranged in a single layer, like miniature masonry, and bound together by 

 a water-i)roof cement. This worm belongs more properly to the muddy 

 and sandy shores and will be mentioned again. ^ 



