STYLARIOIDES FLABELLATA. 101 



to the posterior end which forms a short cone with the anus in the centre. The anterior 

 region is very slightly tapered, for it ends in a somewhat trifid region with a prominent 

 conical process for the attachment of the oral organs in the centre, and on each side is the 

 slightly projecting first foot bearing the long finely iridescent bristles which in fine 

 examples are one-third the length of the body. Except for the bristles the segmentation 

 of the body would be obscured anteriorly, but the caudal region shows the segments more 

 distinctly. The anterior region has the colour of the pale adherent sand-grains, but a 

 ferruginous tint characterises the posterior end, occasionally more than a third of the 

 total length of the annelid, both the sand-grains and secretion being affected. In regions 

 so distant as Norway and the Channel Slope the same appearances characterised the 

 species. In certain Norwegian examples collected by Canon Norman the ferruginous hue 

 is replaced by black or brownish-black pigment, and occasionally both are present on the 

 same form. Moreover, the sand-grains vary in size, and in the admixture of Foraminifera 

 — probably according to the nature of the surroundings. Rarely the scarcity of sand- 

 grains permits the segments of the body to be more easily recognised. In one or two the 

 body is uniformly tinted by the greyish sand-grains. Besides the sand-grains, Foraminifera, 

 and shell-fragments, the usual papillae occur on the feet and on the general surface. These 

 papillae are considerably shorter than those on the frontal cone, but have the same globular 

 tips. The longest papillae occur on the first foot. From the frontal cone issue the two 

 grooved and crenate palpi and above them a series of slender translucent branchiae, but 

 their number could not be accurately determined. 



Anteriorly the dorsal median process (Plate XCVI, fig. 4) bears long papillae, with 

 globular or clavate tips, which give it a characteristic fringe under a lens, and on each 

 side is the long, pale dorsal bristle-tuft, which passes forward and very slightly outward 

 and upward, the tips having a ventral curvature. They are finely iridescent, gleaming 

 with a greenish-blue sheen like the long bristles of Mitrarla. When mounted in Farrant's 

 solution they are brownish by transmitted light, have short articulations at the base, but 

 the greater part of the free portion in each has long joints (Plate CIV, figs. 3 and 3 a). 

 They taper to a fine point, show a distinct curvature, are somewhat stiff, and they form 

 an even row or palisade in the tissues, with reserve-bristles developing at the base, and 

 make a regular vertical fan-like series internally. The ventral bristles are only a little 

 shorter, the regularly-arranged fan having a direction slightly outward and forward, while 

 the lower bristles have a ventral tendency, and the tips curve inward. The angle these 

 bristles form with the body is, of course, variable according to the condition of the 

 muscles of the base on immersion in spirit. The bristles of the second foot — which is 

 fused with the first in forming the lateral projection on each side anteriorly — are much 

 shorter and more slender than the first, indeed, the dorsal do not appear to be more than 

 half the length and the ventral are shorter. Their direction is also forward and slightly 

 outward as in the first pair, and their structure both dorsally and ventrally seems to be 

 the same, viz. long, tapering, jointed bristles. The bristles of the third foot leave the 

 body at a different angle, projecting more directly outward and slightly forward. The 

 dorsal series has the same structure, but the ventral differ, for they are long, jointed, 

 flattened, nearly of equal diameter throughout, though really slightly increasing from the 

 base to the end of the shaft, which is a little dilated and curved forward (Plate CIV, 



