MALDANIDAE 



175 



Remarks. These fragments cannot with certainty be attributed to a genus. They 

 differ from any known Antarctic Maldanid. The head and bristles are close to those of 

 Nicomache, to which genus I have provisionally assigned the examples. 



Genus Axiothella, Verrill 



Axiothella antarctica, n.sp. 



St. 167. 20. ii. 27. Off Signy Island, South Orkneys. 60° 50' 30" S, 46° 15' 00" W. 244-344 m. 

 Gear N 4-T. Bottom: green mud. Two specimens. 



St. WS 76. II. iii. 27. 51° 00' 00" S, 62° 02' 30" W. From 51° 00' 00" S, 62° 00' 00" W to 

 51° 00' go" S, 62° 04' 36" W. 207 m. Gear DC. " Taken from sand brought up by conical dredge." 

 Bottom: fine dark sand. One specimen. 



T2mrrL 



J-O 



a 



OSmmT 



O^ 



Fig. 72. Axiothella antarctica. 

 a. Head from above, b. Dorsal bristle, c. Hook. 



Description. The largest fragment measures 36 mm. by i mm. for eight chaetigers. 

 The colour is an uniform pale green, except for the whitish glandular areas. The head 

 (Fig. 72, a) has an oblique cephalic plate with an uninterrupted edge. The prostomium 

 is a small conical structure without eye spots. There is a pair of long parallel nuchal 

 organs set rather far apart. 



There is no distinct cephalic keel. There is a long buccal segment about three-quarters 

 the length of the ist chaetiger. The segments decrease in length to the 4th chaetiger, 

 which is about half the length of the ist. The 4th to 8th chaetigers are about the same 



