404 
EDWIN S. GOODRICH. 
The Alimentary Canal. 
A straight alimentary canal, ciliated throughout, stretches 
from mouth to anus (fig. 20). The mouth leads into the 
buccal cavity, from the floor of which arises the so-called 
muscular pharynx (fig. 35), a ventral diverticulum. No cilia 
are present on the lining of this pharynx; its shape is some- 
what oval, and its ventral wall very thick and muscular. In 
fact it closely resembles the similar organ found in other 
Archiannelids, such as Dinophilus, Protoarilus, and Sacco- 
cirrus as already pointed out by de Beauchamp (2). 
Sections through the pharynx of Nerilla, both transverse 
and longitudinal (figs. 35, 37), are very like corresponding- 
sections given by Pierantoni in his fine monograph of Proto- 
drilus. In Nerilla, however, there is no thick deposit of 
cuticular substance such as occurs in Protodrilus, nor are there 
any teeth as in the Histriobdellids. The pharynx of Nerilla 
is more like that which I have described in Saccocirrus, 1 
though not quite so much developed ( 8 ). 
The narrow oesophagus widens out into the stomach in the 
second segment. Immediately in front of the stomach lie 
the salivary glands on each side, consisting of a mass of 
unicellular glands (figs. 1, 35, 37, oegl.). The gland-cells are 
very granular, and stain very deeply in a quite characteristic 
manner. Their ducts can be traced for the most part for- 
ward to the anterior edge of the fold overhanging the 
muscular pharynx. Here they open into the buccal cavity, 
1 Both Salensky ( 19 ) and Pierantoni ( 15 ) deny the existence of the 
muscular pharynx which I described in Saccocirrus (8). I can only 
account for these authors’ statements on the supposition that they 
investigated incomplete specimens. Saccocirrus often reaches the 
laboratory after rough handling, and in a somewhat mutilated condition. 
The pharynx is probably eversible, and may very possibly be torn off. 
There can be no possible doubt that it is normally present in Naples 
specimens ; it can be seen in living and in preserved worms, and is, of 
course, quite easy to make out in sections, both transverse and longitu- 
dinal (see figures 1, 19, and 20, on plates 27 and 29 of my paper on 
Saccocirrus [8]). 
