
CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE ZOOLOGICAL LABORATORY OF 
E MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY AT HARVARD 
COLLEGE. E. L MARK, Direcror, No. 133 
NOTES ON THE DISPERSAL OF SAGARTIA 
LUCLE VERRILL. 
G. H. PARKER. 
SrupENTS of the New England sea anemones have for some 
years past been acquainted with a small but striking species of 
Sagartia that inhabits, often in great numbers, the higher tidal 
pools and similar situations on our coast. This sea anemone is 
about a quarter of an inch in height, slightly less in diameter, 
and of a dark green color; it is usually striped vertically with 
a few orange lines and has a cluster of some forty-eight whitish 
tentacles. It was described nearly four years ago under the 
name Sagartia lucie by Verrill (98), who first observed it in 
1892 and annually after that for six seasons near New Haven. 
On the authority of W. R. Coe, Verrill reports it common at 
Woods Hole in 1898. He suggests that it may have been 
introduced into the region about New Haven on oysters that 
are annually brought from the south in large quantities and 
planted in the waters of Long Island Sound. He notes its 
rapid increase in numbers. That it is multiplying and spread- 
ing considerably is indicated by the following records of earliest 
occurrences, which, though probably open to revision, give a 
rather definite idea of the direction and rate of dispersal. 
When not otherwise stated, these records are based on the 
observations of the writer. 
New Haven, Conn. Verrill, who for a long time has been 
especially acquainted with the marine invertebrates of this 
region, states that he did not observe this species between 
1865 and 1890. His attention was first called to it in 1892 
by Miss L. L. Verrill, who found it in tidal pools at Outer 
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