70 ANNELIDANS. 



the coast is the " Lug," or " Lug-Worm." It is of a greenish red colour, and 

 the gill-tufts, which form two rows upon the middle portion of its body (Fig. 63), 

 are of a beautiful crimson, from the blood which circulates in them abundantly. 

 This worm bores rapidly in the sand by means of its conical head ; and as it 

 moves on, the unstable sides of the passage are prevented from closing 

 up by a secretion from the body of the animal, which cements the particles 

 together into a kind of wall. This, as the creature advances, is left behind, 

 imitating, in miniature, the brickwork of a tunnel. 



The Nereids (Nereis)* have branchial tufts and locomotive oars appended 

 to every segment; they are carnivorous, and their mouth exhibits a very 

 singular structure. The commencement of the alimentary canal is capable 

 of being turned inside out, like the finger of a glove. When thus everted, it 

 appears like a thick proboscis, armed with a formidable array of sharp teeth, 

 curved fangs, keen knives, and horny plates resembling rasps or files, the 

 shape of which varies in different species, but always calculated to seize and 

 retain passing prey. No sooner is some small animal seized by this won- 

 derful apparatus, than the whole protruded proboscis is quickly inverted, 

 carrying the hapless victim into the living cavern, from which there is no 

 escape. Among the Nereids may be noted 



The Eunice! glgantea, the largest Annelidan known. We have at this moment 

 a specimen before us, which measures upwards of four feet in length, and consists of 

 448 segments, all provided with their complement of oars. It is a beautiful sight to see 

 a man-of-war's barge, fully manned with sturdy rowers, gliding along over the level sur- 

 face of the sea, the oars all keeping time with such precision that they seem to move 

 as by one impulse. It is a grand spectacle to behold the meteor-like progress of a 

 steam-ship as it cleaves its onward path ; but far more beautiful, far more magnificent 

 to the admirer of the works of Nature to observe the movements of these splendid worms. 

 Let any one imagine this gorgeous animal free in its native seas, blazing as it does with 

 iridescent tints, that answer back again the glowing brilliancy of a tropical sun, while it 

 rows along its "oary state" by means of upwards of 1,700 distinct laminae, all wielded 

 with such energy that the eye can scarcely follow their movements and he will perhaps 

 form some faint idea of the efficiency of a locomotive apparatus such as is provided for 

 the Dorsibranchiate Annelidans. 



"With our notions of a worm," says Dr. Hartwich, "we gene- 

 rally connect the idea of incompleteness ; we are apt to consider 

 them as beings equally uninteresting and ugly, and disdain to in- 

 quire into the wonders of their organization ; but a cursory exami- 

 nation of the Eunice would alone suffice to give us a very different 

 opinion of these despised but far from despicable animals. Three 

 hundred brains, from which about three thousand nerves proceed, 

 regulate its movements. Two hundred and fifty stomachs digest 

 its food ; five hundred and fifty branchiae refresh its blood ; six 

 hundred hearts distribute this vital fluid through its body ; and 

 thirty thousand muscles obey the will of the worm, and execute 

 its snake-like movements. Surely there is here but little occa- 

 sion to commiserate v/ant or scoff at poverty ! " 



The Sea-Mouse (Halithea% aculeata] (Fig. 64) is common on our coasts, and is 

 * A nymph. f A nymph. J a\s, als, the sea ; 6ea, thea, a goddess. 



