406 University of California Publications in Zoology [Vol. 16 



2. Aphrodita californica, sp. nov. 



PI. 32, figs. 15-26; pi. 37, figs. 79-80 



Comparisons. — Only one specimen of this interesting species is in 

 the collection. It had been included with those annelids identified 

 by Treadwell (1914) as Aphrodita castanea. However, it differs from 

 . the latter in the following characteristics : the shape of the body is 

 shorter and broader than that of A. castanea; the golden-brown dorsal 

 setae, which are conspicuous in A. castanea, are covered by the color- 

 less lateral fibers and are of a dull, pale color; the shape of the 

 prostomium is somewhat squarish ; the eyes are very large ; the median 

 tentacle is unusually long in A. californica, while in A. castanea it 

 is very short; the fimbriated organs have short projections ending 

 bluntly ; the neurosetae in A. californica are perfectlj' smooth, without 

 any trace of hairiness, while those of A. castanea have pillose tips. 



Description. — The body (pi. 37, figs. 79, 80) is oval, broadly 

 rounded anteriorly, tapering abruptly posteriorly to a narrow caudal 

 region. It is dark gray in color. The dorsal surface is covered with 

 a heavy f elty covering and with debris, so that the animal at first sight 

 looks more like a piece of inorganic matter than like an annelid. The 

 length of the body is 18 mm. ; the width, 8 mm., from tip to tip of 

 setae; distance between the parapodia, 4 mm. There are thirty -three 

 segments, very definitely marked off. The parapodia are marked off 

 from the main body bj^ a deep groove on each side of the ventral 

 surface. The ventral surface is thickly covered with large papillae 

 (pi. 32, fig. 22) which have capped tips. 



The prostomium (pi. 32, fig. 15) is somewhat squarish in shape, 

 subglobular, the width slightly exceeding the length. The narrow 

 isthmus by which it is attached to the peristomium is about one-third 

 of the width of the prostomium. The ocular prominences are large, 

 each bearing a pair of comparatively large eyes of which only one is 

 visible from the dorsal siirface, while the other is located at the 

 extreme anterior end of the ocular hemisphere. The palpi arise from 

 short basal portions. They are stout, somewhat uniform in diameter 

 except the distal ends, which slope graduall.y to attenuated tips. The 

 length of the palpi is four times that of the prostomium, and their 

 surface is covered with fine sensory papillae. The median tentacle 

 arises from a prominent eirrophore, which is one-fifth of the style 

 and is covered with papillae. A few papillae are also scattered on 



