164 Neiv York State Museum 



toms are muddy, and, again, only those forms will be 

 discussed which have not previously been touched 

 upon. Among the anemones the Sand Anemone found 

 on sandy beaches is also characteristic of muddy 

 beaches. Hydroids and bryozoans and ascidians oc- 

 cur on the eel-grass. Flat worms (planarians) are also 

 found on the eel-grass. Among the many species of 

 worms are polychaetes, mostly sedentary forms that 

 have tubes, though many burrow in the mud. The 

 Clam Worms (Nereis virens) are common on muddy 

 beaches and in shelly sand where they live between 

 tide levels in burrows lined with mucus. These 

 worms are found from New York northward. These 

 are the giants among the polychaete worms, very ac- 

 tive and voracious, feeding on other worms, crusta- 

 ceans etc. At night they leave their burrows and swim 

 about freely. They are of a dull, bluish green color, 

 showing some iridescence, and often measure 18 in- 

 ches or more in length. The Lug Worm, discussed 

 above under sandy beaches, is very characteristic of 

 muddy beaches. The Red Thread (Lumbriconereis 

 tenuis) will be found in almost any of our muddy 

 beaches. The mud is infested with these slender, 

 threadlike worms of a deep dull-red color and about a 

 foot long. They are very fragile and are not easy 

 to dig out unbroken. Another species (L. opalina), 

 the Opal Worm, is also abundant in muddy beaches 

 from New Jersey northward. It grows to a length 

 of 18 inches and is one-eighth of an inch wide, is 

 ringed and each ring is provided with a pair of bristled 

 feet. In color it is a rich bronze and opalescent colors 

 play over the surface. The Tufted Worm (Amphi- 

 trite ornata) is abundant from Cape Cod to New Jer- 



