Clare Island Survey — Archiannelida and Polychaeta. 47 61 



evidently closely related to Pisione, but show differences of generic value. 

 The members of the family Pisionidae previously known were confined to 

 the shoi'es of Chile and Peru. 



Praegeria remota gen. et sp. no v. 

 Pis. VII-VIII, figs. 15A-K. 



No complete mature specimens of this species have been found, and 

 consequently the dimensions of the fully grown animal cannot be stated. 

 Moreover, by far the greater number of specimens, and especially the larger 

 ones, are represented by fragments. A small but complete specimen measured 

 7 mm., and was composed of 40 setigerous segments. A larger, but incom- 

 plete specimen had 55 segments. The body is colourless or flesh-coloured, 

 long and narrow, tapering considerably towards the tail, but very little 

 towards the head. The segments in the middle of the body are almost as 

 long as broad, with elongate feet projecting laterally. The body terminates 

 behind in a button-shaped anal segment, with two long slender anal cirri 

 1-25 mm. long (fig. 15e). 



In this species the head is so completely fused with the anterior segments 

 of the trunk that it has lost its organic individuality. The brain can be seen 

 as a pair of elongate lobes (fig. 15a) united in front, and stretching into the 

 fourth setigerous segment. Just behind its middle line are two pairs of black 

 eyes, the pair on each side being connate, with the lenses pointing in opposite 

 directions. At the back of the brain are two additional spots of pigment. 

 All these eyes rest directly on the brain, and cannot be considered as 

 indicating the position of the head. In front of the brain, and probably 

 representing the head, is a flattened four-sided lobe, pointing forward. This 

 is surrounded on its anterior sides by the swollen bases of the buccal para- 

 podia ; but it seems to project a little dorsally. The massive bases of the 

 buccal parapodia are fused in front of the head ; but the union is marked by 

 dorsal and ventral grooves (figs. 15b, c). Each contains a large spine, which 

 is swollen in the middle and expanded at the tip, where it is bevelled, and in 

 some specimens has a few blunt spines. The inner end of each spine is 

 situated near the base of the first setigerous foot. The massive base is 

 prolonged dorsally into a slender tapering cirrus, and beneath the base of 

 this is a small flask-shaped cirrus. These two structures probably represent the 

 dorsal and ventral cirri of the buccal parapodium. To the ventral surface of 

 the buccal parapodia are attached the basal portions of a pair of long slender 

 cirri, which are about three times as long as the dorsal buccal cirri. Their 

 bases are enclosed by conspicuous sheaths of tissue (figs. 15c, d) through 

 which they pass towards the ventral surface of the head above the mouth. 



