APHRODITA ACULEATA. 255 



becomes odoriferous — is probably the cause of its mortality. In its native sites it seems 

 to make its way in the mud and sandy mud by aid of its powerful ventral bristles, 

 whilst its back is laved by currents of sea water under the felt which protects this some- 

 what delicate surface from direct contact with its surroundings. It appears to be a 

 limivorous form, pursuing its work in the depths of the sea, where its beautifully irides- 

 cent hairs can be seen by few admirers. It does not always follow that the reasons for 

 gorgeous apparel or brilliant phosphorescence lend themselves readily to the inquirer. 



The smallest example in my collection was procured on the bottom by Dr. Alford 

 Anderson on board the ' Garland,' on the 9th August, 1888, on the trawling grounds 

 near the Bell Rock. It measures 3*5 mm. in spirit. The dorsum is covered with sandy 

 mud in which are a few fine hairs. The ventral surface forms a proportionally broader 

 area than in the adult. There are nineteen segments besides the pro- and peristomium, 

 and there are no signs of the lustrous hairs, yet the larger bristles of the feet are 

 prominent, though few in number. Each foot has superiorly in the ventral division a 

 long hastate bristle slightly bent downwards at the extremity, the hastate region having 

 a coating of fine agglutinated hairs which project beyond the tip. One or two shorter 

 forms of the same type occur in the next row, the larger having a similar though less 

 developed terminal coating. The third series of two smaller bristles has smooth hastate 

 tips. The spine has a long free point. The dorsal felt is already formed as a dense 

 interlacing series of fibres, which entangle minute particles of mud and sand. The 

 dorsal spines are still comparatively short and pale, and do not project beyond the felt 

 and mud of the sides. 



The soberly tinted young form is thus a contrast to the adult in the colour of the 

 bristles, spines, and hairs. Its hues coincide with the surrounding sandy mud. 



Baster's account (1765) of this species is, on the whole, careful and characteristic, the 

 arrangement of the ventral bristles and even their number having received attention. 

 His structural remarks are also interesting, and he found the male and female elements 

 in June. His figures are fairly accurate. 



Rondelet and Swammerdam called the sea-mouse Physalus, while Bartholinus termed 

 it the golden worm. Seba, Molyneux, and Barrelier, again, named it Eruca sive Scolo- 

 pendra marina, Swammerdam was of opinion that it deserved a place near the sea- 

 urchins, probably from the prominence of its spines. 



Pallas' s description of the external and internal structure is excellent. He had not, 

 however, seen one seven inches long, as Baster reports. He describes the muscular bands, 

 the perivisceral fluid, the digestive system, and the stomach (ventricidus), which the 

 Belgian fishermen call mentulam Aphroditse, and eat it boiled — a poor kind of nourish- 

 ment Ouvier afterwards thought. It somewhat resembles the human uterus, he says, 

 with its os. He is of opinion that the scales are not branchiae, but that fourteen pairs of 

 sacculate bilobate organs (the dorsal fimbriated papillae) are. He mentions the pinnate 

 condition of the intestine, figuring the lateral caeca, and describing their attachment to 

 the " integument." He thinks that Redi's view of the insertion of the caeca in dorsal 

 sacs will not bear scrutiny. The caeca communicate with the median gut freely, and 

 chyme enters and is absorbed, — indeed, he saw particles of algae in them, but nothing 

 in the ventriculus or oesophagus. He corrects Redi's notion that the nerve-cord and its 



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