40 



I\\ EliTFJiRA TKS. sr()\(;ES 



Alcove 2 

 Sponges 



l)(';iiitiful ill (l('si«;ii. Spoiifijcs ranjic in size troni the Uny (rrantia of the 

 New lMi^;lan(l coast to the j:;ij^autic "Neptune's goblets" 

 louiid ill the eastern seas. This alcove contains certain 

 specimens whose tissue is represented in wax tinted to 

 show tlie natural 

 colorin*; of sponges, 

 which varies from 

 the hh'ached yel- 

 h)wisli color com- 

 monly seen to decj) 

 brown or 1)1 ack, or 

 yellow and red, in 

 varying shades. 



In Alcove 3 are 

 show^l coral ani- 

 mals and their re- 

 latives: ]) hint like 

 hydroids which 

 often are mistaken 

 for sea moss, but 

 which really are a 

 series of polyps 

 living in a colony: jellyfishes with their umbrella-shaped bodies and long, 

 streaming tentacles; brilliant colored sea anemones, sea 

 fans and sea plumes; the magenta colored organ-pipe 

 coral, the stony corals, and the precious coral of commerce. 

 Coral polyi)s, mistakenly called 'V'oral insects," are the animals that 

 build up the coral reefs. In front of the window is a life-size model 

 in glass of the beautiful Portuguese ^lan-of-War. This organism is 

 really a colony of many polyp individuals attached to one another, 

 and speciahzed for various functions. 



The best kno^^^l species in this group include the tape-worms, 

 whose develo])ment and structure are shown by models in 

 the central case and in the third section of the left- 

 hand alcove case. These are parasitic flatworms. The 

 less familiar free-living flatworms. which inhabit both salt and fresh 

 water, are shown by enlarginl models in the right-hand alcove case 

 and illustrate well the great diversity of color and detail in this group. 

 The Roundworms are also parasitic, since they live in the digestive 

 canal of mammals. TIh^ most familiar is the common roundworm 

 or stomach worm, Ascaris, of which an enlarged model is 

 exhibited, showing the internal structure. 



[Xote for teachers and students. — Some of tlu^ models 



European coiiiniercial sponge comparable with the Florida yel- 

 low -sponge or "Hardhead." The sponge industry in both the 

 Mediterranean and the Bahama region is almost destroyed by 

 careless methods, and conservation must be practiced here as in 

 other of the world's resources. 



Alcove 3 

 Polyps 



Alcove 4 

 Flatworms 



Alcove 5 

 Roundworms 



