84 PHYLLODOCE PARETTI. 



of the dorsal pair. The ventral surface of the head is — like the median dorsal — pale 

 brownish. No distinct depression occurs at the posterior border. 



Tentacular cirri vary in length in different examples. In that from Plymouth 

 (Plate XLIV, fig. 6) they are somewhat short, thick but tapered terminally, and have 

 the same yellowish colour as the tentacles. The first or most anterior of the series in life 

 springs from a ceratophore which projects forward at the side of the head, is fusiform in 

 outline and ventral in position. Its yellow is slightly tinged with brown. The next is 

 dorsal but in rear of the foregoing, is carried more or less erect, usually sloping 

 obliquely outward, and forms a long flattened lanceolate leaf, its yellowish hue also having 

 a few brownish touches, sometimes as a band on each side of a midrib of dull yellow on 

 its upper or anterior surface. The third lies below the former towards the ventral border 

 of the buccal segment, is fusiform in outline, slightly flattened and about the same length 

 as the first. The fourth arises from a ceratophore which projects forward from the second 

 ring of the body, and passes horizontally outward, being less prominent than the con- 

 spicuous second pair. It is next the latter in size and has a flattened lanceolate outline 

 with a pointed tip — its general yellow being tinged with brown. 



Body 6 — 10 inches in length and 4 — 5 mm. in diameter, distinctly tapered anteriorly, 

 and more so posteriorly where it ends in two rather thick anal cirri of the shape and 

 colour of the tentacular cirri. The coloration is most striking, the dorsum being of a 

 rich iridescent blue throughout, or in some with a tinge of pink mesially, probably from 

 iridescence, whilst the ventral surface is similarly tinted — only slightly paler. In front 

 the mesial part of each segment — between the feet — is darker, the narrower band at the 

 segment-junction being paler, but throughout the rest of the body the segment-junction is 

 discriminated by a glistening transverse line on each side of a narrow belt. Ventrally 

 the segment-junctions are marked by a straight line anteriorly and by two flattened 

 spindles or crescents behind, so that there is a forward sinus in the middle lin#. 



The lamellae (dorsal cirri) are of a rich deep green or blackish-green with a border 

 of yellow or greenish yellow, and they have a tendency to be curled and twisted, especially 

 in specimens in confinement, a feature greatly increasing the complexity of the dorsum. 

 The ventral lamellse which lie behind the setigerous lobes are considerably paler, being 

 light green with bold touches or a belt of brownish pigment within the border, which has 

 a margin of yellow. In some the buccal and the second segments are marked off by the 

 deep madder-brown hue of the two following ventral and dorsal cirri, this colour thus 

 bringing into relief the yellowish tentacular cirri, and the yellow margin of the dorsal 

 cirri. 



Few animals — marine, fresh- water, or land — can excel this Phyllodoce in the chaste 

 beauty of its coloration, whether viewed in whole or in part. Though the hues are 

 similar throughout the cirri, yet the soft folds and curvatures of each present endless 

 variations, so that whilst the general plan is carried out there is no monotony. The 

 dark iridescent blue of the body gleams as the annelid moves with an ever changing 

 lustre which relieves the dark green and yellow of the foliate cirri. 



In one with a reproduced tail, the new segments with their lanceolate dorsal cirri 

 are yellowish, just a tinge of green or bluish-green appearing in the centre of the 

 anterior cirri so as to differentiate the yellowish border. The ventral cirri are yellowish 



