REPORT ON THE ANNELIDA. 
13 
and probably also for their employment as crushing surfaces in the passage of the food 
inwards in the ordinary state of the parts. The arrangement of the fibres in the thickened 
retractor would further assist in the expulsion of the organ, as in Magelona. 
In extrusion the basal or membranous portion of the organ is formed by a plait 
continuous with the lips, which passes inward to the posterior retractor muscles, so as to 
join the denser inner fold of the proboscis ; the middle region is formed by the latter, 
and the distal by the denser yellowish part, the two divisions of which, by the nature 
of their connections, are directed vertically in the extruded condition. 
The food of this species probably consists of the same nature as that of Euphrosyne. 
The cardiac opening of the stomach, in the retracted condition of the proboscis, projects 
into the organ on a similar long rugose eminence. The inner surface of the stomach is 
remarkably ridged and glandular, while in transverse section the intestine presents a 
closely arranged series of glandular lamellae. 
In vertical section the caruncle is found to be composed chiefly of hypodermic tissue 
enveloped in cuticle. In the centre a strong vertical muscular band proceeds from the 
body-wall to the crest, and numerous longitudinal fibres appear at the base (in the 
peduncle). In front a deep indentation exists on each side a little above the base, 
surmounted by numerous narrow folds. The latter occur from base to summit posteriorly, 
and have the aspect of a single series of zig-zag folds on each side. The madder-brown 
pigment is deeply imbedded, and close to the central vertical muscular septum. In front a 
series of fibres proceed from the latter along the median tentacle, and similar bands occur 
in the other cirri. The anterior part of the caruncle lies over the cephalic ganglion, but 
the function of the organ is doubtful. 
In regard to the structure of the body-wall, the cuticle is comparatively dense, the 
hypoderm somewhat less developed, while the circular, longitudinal, and other muscles are 
strong. The nerve-cords are somewhat small and flattened, being placed in an area 
bounded internally by a transverse band of fibres, and externally by the circular muscular 
layer and hypoderm. The oblique muscles are attached at the outer border of each 
trunk. 
Dr. Baird’s Chloeia tumida seems to be rather like this form, but devoid of spots 
on the dorsum. One collected by H.M.S. “Alert” off Torres Straits Islands had taken 
a hook, which is now firmly grasped by the proboscis of the blackened preparation. 
A small specimen measuring about an inch in length is marked with doubt as a native 
of the Arafura Sea. The segments amount to about thirty, exclusive of head and tail. 
The bristles agree in structure with the foregoing, allowing for the difference in size. The 
branchiae are less branched, a condition probably due to the latter. The coloration and 
other features correspond. 
