SERPULA TUBULAR CREEPER. 



clusters consisting of hundreds of spiral tubes 

 curiously interwoven ; they are sometimes curled 

 into a spiral form, but differ materially from the 

 convoluted shells, as they never have any regular 

 number of whorls, or any appearance indicating 

 that the animal is directed in forming these 

 convolutions, by an invariable law. The name 

 is derived from the Latin serpo, I creep, and 

 well designates their tortuous,* vermiform^ ap- 

 pearance. There is very little known of the 

 animal. The Serpulse abound in almost all 

 situations that are at times covered by the sea ; 

 they are found attached to various marine sub- 

 stances, from the firmest rock and the sea-weed 

 that grows upon it, to sea-animals the most rapid 

 in their motions. In some situations, where 

 they are not subject to interruptions, they form 

 patches of great thickness and extent. Some of 

 the rocks in the island of Gorre are covered with 

 a crust of them several inches thick, and more 

 than twenty feet square. 



SERPULA Tubularia. 

 TUBULAR CREEPER. 



Specific character. Shell taper, opaque, 

 slightly wrinkled transversely ; the smaller end 

 is usually convoluted irregularly, flexuous or 

 variously twisted, fixed ; the larger end frequently 



* Tortuous, from the Latin tort us, twisted. 



t Vermiform, from vermis, a worm, and forma, a form 



