REPORT OF THE STATE PALEONTOLOGIST 1902 1235 



family Aphroditidae and we may here introduce so much of the 

 characterization of these forms as pertains to the interpretation 

 of the objects in hand. 



W. Blaxland Benham in the Cambridge, Natural History [v. 2, 

 1896, Polychaet Worms, p. 309] says ; 



The most characteristic feature of this family and one by 

 which its members are absolutely distinguished from all 

 other Chaetopods, is the possession of scales or " elytra " 

 on the back. These flattened dorsal cirri are of a somewhat 

 horny texture and are carried, generally, on alternate seg- 

 ments of the body, filamentous cirri occurring on the other 

 segments. In the 'subfamilies Hermionina and Polynoina the 

 elytriferous segments are 2, 4, 5, 7, 9 etc., up to 23; then every 

 third segment. The worms are usually short with some thirty- 

 five to. forty -five segments, though Sthenelais and a few others 

 have many more. In many cases these elytra are relatively of 

 large size extending backward as broad scutes in two lateral 

 series which may or may not meet and slightly overlap in the 

 middle line. The posterior edge of each scute overlaps that next 

 behind it. In the well known case of Aphrodite, the " sea-mouse 

 the elytra are covered by a felting of hairlike threads but Her- 

 mione, an allied genus, has them fully exposed. 



The representatives of both of these genera are short, broad 

 and oval worms. We find no statement as to the alternation of 

 the scutes in these forms except that they are " arranged as in 

 Polynoe " where such alternation prevails in most instances. 

 Among the Sigalionina which have longer vermiform bodies 

 "the elytra are in alternate segments up to the twenty-sixth 

 and posteriorly on every succeeding segement " [op. cit. p. 313 J. 

 Such structures represented by the combination of form and 

 scute-bearing segments we find in our specimens, together 

 with the presence in the case of one species of conspicuous and 

 heavy tufts of marginal setae and in the other sparser hairs 

 plainly arising from extended segmental parapodia. We briefly 

 describe these specimens. 



1 Four examples are elongate oval bodies having the outline 

 of a short willow leaf, rather blunt at one end and tapering to a 

 more acute angle at the other. Two of these specimens pre- 

 serve both obverse and reverse of the body and the markings of 

 one side are sharper than on the other; it is evident that they 

 have been impressed from one side to which they properly ap- 



