47 76 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



Distribution. — British Isles : North Sea : western Baltic ; France ; 

 Mediterranean ; Black Sea. 



Eteone foliosa Quatrefages. 



1865. Eteone foliosa. Quatrefages, p. 146. 1865. Eteone pusilla + 



E. spetzbergensis. Mahngren, p. 102. 1875. E. caeca. Ehlers, p. 42. 



1888. E. foliosa. De St.-Joseph, p. 306. 1895. E. foliosa. De St.-Joseph, 

 p. 226. 1896. E. Malmgreni. Michaelsen, p. 37. 1908. E. spetzber- 



gensis + E.pusilla. Mcintosh, pp. 104, 106. 



To this species I refer a number of large specimens usually found in sand. 

 From Eteone arctica it is easily distinguished by its large size, absence of setae 

 on the second segment, and long fusiform anal cirri. Owing to the confusion 

 of species in this genus, it is advisable to give a description of the Irish 

 specimens. 



The largest specimens are 130 mm. in length, consisting of 360 segments. 

 For E. foliosa, de St. Joseph states that his largest specimen was 200 mm- 

 long, with 353 segments. The body is cream-coloured in life, and the 

 segments are so crowded together that the setigerous lobes and cirri are 

 in close contact. The length of the head is about equal to its width at 

 the posterior margin, which is much wider than the front end. A pair of 

 eyes is always present; but in preserved specimens they are apt to be 

 concealed by the opaque overlying tissues. The tentacles are short and 

 subulate, the ventral pair being placed behind the dorsal. The dorsal 

 tentacular cirri are shorter than the ventral pair. The second segment has 

 no setae or setigerous lobe, and bears only a flattened ventral cirrus on each 

 side, as described by de St.-Joseph for E. foliosa, The setigerous lobe in the 

 normal foot is bifid, the ends being rounded. In the anterior segments the 

 dorsal and ventral cirri are in close contact with the setigerous lobe; but 

 in the posterior segments the dorsal cirrus is carried on an elongated broad 

 pedestal, and does not touch the setigerous lobe. The longer diameter of the 

 dorsal and ventral cirri is horizontal, and the distal ends are rounded, but 

 occasionally they taper to a rounded tip. In the typical setae the 

 shaft is slightly dilated at the tip, and terminates in two unequal teeth. 

 The end of the shaft is deeply bifid, and the sides and bases of the two 

 claws are covered with spines. The smaller tooth shows varying degrees of 

 development and is very short in the anterior feet. The various shapes 

 represented by Mcintosh (1910, PI. Lxxviii, figs. 16, 16«, 165, 17) for 

 E. spetzbergensis and E. pusilla may all be seen in a single foot. 



The anal segment bears two long conical cirri, swollen at the base, and 

 tapering gradually to a point. 



