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VI. 



THE MAEINE WORMS (ANNELIDA) OF DUBLIN BAY AND THE 



ADJOINING DISTRICT. 



By ROWLAND SOUTHERN, B.Sc, m.r.i.a. 



Read May 23. Ordered for Publication May 25. Published June 20, 1010. 



The material on which this paper is based has been collected in Dulilin Bay 

 and the adjoining coast, roughly corresponding to the county of Dublin. The 

 opportunity has been taken to collect all the previous records of this group 

 falling within the district ; and some material collected by the Scientific Staff 

 of the Fisheries Branch of the Department of Agriculture and Technical 

 Instruction is also included. The greater part of the material was collected 

 on dredging trips under the auspices of the Duljlin Marine Biological Com- 

 mittee,' during the years 1907 and 1908, with the aid of grants from the 

 Fauna and Flora Committee of the Royal Irish Academy. On several 

 occasions a small sailing trawler was used for dredging, usually between 

 Dalkey Island and the Burford Bank. A great deal of dredging was also 

 done from a rowing-boat in Malahide Inlet, Dalkey Sound, &c.; and much the 

 greater part of the material was taken inside the three-mile limit. The 

 greatest depth from which specimens were obtained was Lambay Deep, where 

 several hauls were taken by the Fisheries' cruiser in 40-60 fathoms. There 

 is considerable variety of habitat in the littoral region, from the muddy Hats 

 near the mouth of the Lifi'ey to the rocky shores of Howth. Most of the 

 shore-collecting was done at Sandymount and Howth. 



In this paper the division Annelida is uuderstood as including the 

 Archiannelida, or primitive segmented worms— the Polychaeta, Oligochaeta 

 Gephyrea, and Hirudinea. The study of these groups in this district has a 

 short and moderu history. In the " Guide to the County of Dublin," pub- 

 lished for the 1878 meeting of the British Association in DubUn, not a single 

 worm is included in the faunistic lists. In his " Preliminary Report on the 

 Fauna of Dublin Bay,"- Professor Haddon stated that he had collected over 

 two dozen species of Annelids in the Bay, and that he was engaged in working 

 them out; but unfortunately nothing more has been published concerning 

 them. 



' Irish Naturalist, 1908, vol. xvii., p. 105 ; vol. xviii., p. IGG. 

 ^Proc. Roy. Irish Academy (ISSS), vol. iv., p. 520. 



K.I.A. PROC, VOL. X.WIII., SKCT. B. [2 G] 



