ANNELIDS OF THE TRIBES SABELLIDES 



AND SERPULIDES. 



SYSTEMATIC DISCUSSION. 

 Tribe SABELLIDES. 



Family SABELLID^. 



Attempts have been made by several authors to arrange the many 

 and varied forms belonging to this group in analytical tables conven- 

 ient for interpretation. 



Grube (1851) placed them all in Sahella^ dividing and subdividing 

 the genus according to the form of the branchial lobes. Kroyer (1856) 

 separated the northern forms into various known genera, proposing 

 the name Bispira for those having the branchial lobes equal and 

 coiled spirally : " Foruden disse fajm Grupper mener jeg, at de Sabel- 

 ler, hos hvilke begge Gj^ellebuskene danne Spiraler, ma udgjore en 

 sjsette Slsegt, hvilken man maske kunde Kalde Bispira."^ He also 

 described many new species which he referred to the genus Sabella. 

 As no definite species was mentioned as type, and also as many of the 

 species referred by him and others to the genus Sabella have been 

 found to have their branchial lobes spiral or involute in retraction, it is 



'This name Bispira, suggested bj Krojer (1856 — nonien nudum), without 

 adequate description or reference to any species, as cited above, was first used by 

 Claparfede (1870) for Bispira volutacor7iis (Rathke, 1843), supposing this to be 

 the same as Amp/iifritc volutacorttis Montagu ( 1804) given by Qiiatrefages (1865) 

 as the first species under his genus Distylia, ignoring the fact that Kroyer had 

 called attention to their being distinct. Saint-Joseph ( 1894), notwithstanding he 

 mentions these facts, combines the two genera, making volutacornis Montagu 

 the type of the genus Biffira, eliminating the voluiacorttis Rathke as it is 

 synonymous with the rubropunctata Grube and referable to the genus Jasmineira 

 Langerhans (18S0), type/, caudata Langerhans. Other authors — Langerhans 

 (18S0), Lo Bianco (1S93), and Johnson (iQOi) — have added to the confusion by 

 applying Bispira to still other forms, which should be referred to as many dis- 

 tinct genera. It is therefore deemed desirable to restore Distylia for the volu- 

 tacornis Montagu, and if Bispira is to be considered, it apparently should be 

 studied in connection with its relation \.o Jasmineira. 



(1S3) 



