/.v r/-; A' 7 •/•;/)' AM 7 •/'>•. noixp worms 'M) 



These arc lor the most part parasitic, li\iii}r in tlic di^cs- 

 Alcove 5 . ... , ,,,, ^ ,. ... .. 



_, . tivc canals ol inaininals. 1 lie most lainiluir is the 



Roundworms 



coinnion roundworm oi- stomach worm. Ascaris, of 



which an enlarj!;e(l model is exhibited. 



The minute wheel animalcules comprise man\- cxcjuisitc and ^rotcsciue 



forms, some of which construct tul)es of gelatinous 

 Alcove 6 ,, i-*\fri.i • 



j^ ., substance. sand-j>;rams, etc. A tew ot the species are para- 



sites, but most of them live a free, active life. They are 

 aquatic and mainly found in fresh water. 



The sea-mats in Alcove 7 are plant-like animals which lead the 



colonial form of life. The maioritv of the species are 

 Alcove 7 . J ^ 1- 



g " marine, although a few occur in fresh w^ater. The lamp 



shells shown in this alcove superficially resemble clams, 

 but by structure are more closely related to the worms and starfishes. 

 Alcove 8 is occupied by the starfishes, the sea urchins, sea cucumbers 



and sea Ulies. The starfish is the pest of the oyster beds as 

 Starfi h -^ ^^ feeds on oysters and destroys them in large numbers. 



The brittle stars when handled or attacked are able to 

 drop off an arm and later regenerate another. Sea urchins are an 

 important article of food in Europe and the West Indies. 



The annelids, typified by the familiar earthworm, are worms whose 



bodies are made up of rings or segments. They are inhab- 

 . ... itants of both fresh and salt ^vater, many kinds living 



in the mud and sand of the shore while others bore into 

 wood and shells. The "houses" that these annehds build are often very 

 beautiful and interesting. In the window is a group showing a section 

 of a mud flat on the New England coast with the variety of worm life' 

 found in what to the casual observer seems to be an uninhabited area. 

 Arthropods include the familiar crabs, lobsters, insects and their 



relatives. The number of existing species in this group 

 . , , is greater than that of all the rest of the animal and vege- 



table kingdoms together. No other group comprises so 

 many species useful or harmful to man. In the case in the center of the 



alcove is a model showing the anatomy of the common 

 Crustaceans lobster, also enlarged models showing heads of various 

 and Insects species of insects. On the wall are two of the largest, 



specimens of lobsters that have ever been taken. They 

 weighed when alive thirty-one and thirty-four pounds respectively. 

 The largest of the arthropods is the giant crab of Japan, some of which, 

 hke that placed on the wall, have a spread of about ten feet. 



The mollusks form a group second only to the arthropods 

 in the vast number and diversity of forms wiiich it embraces, includ- 

 ing marine, fresh water and land animals. All mollusks have soft 



