164 SPECIES OF SABELLA, ETC 



whose curiosity or misfortune may lead it within reach 

 of its jaws. 



Nor are the other members of the family Tubicola 

 less curious and beautiful than the Serpula, although 

 they do not construct so perfect tubes. Instead of 

 clothing themselves with a shelly tube, secreted by their 

 skin, these animals, called Sabella, Terebella, and Am- 

 phitrite, form tubes composed of sand or of any small 

 pieces of shell which they happen to come into contact 

 with, and which, by means of a viscid matter exuded 

 from their bodies, they glue together, so as to make 

 a tolerably regular tubular coat. The empty tubes 

 of a species of Sabella may often be found on sandy 

 shores, heaped together along with dead shells and 

 sea-weed, and the living worm may be found in its 

 tube, buried in the sand near low-water-mark. These 

 sand-tubes are neatly constructed of grains of nearly 

 equal size, glued together into a wall not much thicker 

 than paper. The form of the tube is cylindrical, or 

 very narrowly funnel-shaped, the lower end being 

 smaller, and gradually widening upwards. Other kinds 

 dwell .in society, like the Sabella alveolata, which forms 

 extensive honeycombed masses, constructed of grains 

 of sand, and attached to rocks near low-water-mark. 

 Sometimes a wide surface of the rock is completely 

 covered by these aggregated tubes. When the water 

 retires, nothing is seen but the mouths of the tubes, in 

 each of which a drop of water is generally retained ; 

 but, when the water again flows in, this sandy honey- 

 comb is transformed into a scene of much beauty. From 

 each aperture a neck protrudes, wreathed with concen- 



