REPORT ON THE ANNELIDA. 
261 
of the scarlet flowers of Erythrina indica. When, finally, the “ Seasea” [Eugenia) is in 
bloom, the men look out for the moon’s being just above the western horizon at the 
dawn of day, and on the tenth morning the Palolo appears. The extra lunar month, 
however, occasionally misleads them. There is a second appearance of the Palolo, a 
month after the first, probably consisting, he says, of those that are not sufficiently 
mature to spawn in October, or, perhaps, another species. 
Family Eunicidje. 
The representatives of this family are comparatively numerous in the Challenger 
series ; indeed, though apparently more plentiful in the warmer seas, they occur in most 
oceans, from the extreme north through the temperate and tropical seas to the extreme 
south. A large number accordingly, arranged under five genera, are described by 
Kinberg in his Freg. Eugen. Eesa; and Grube presents fourteen from the Philippines. 
Schmarda gives an account of nine in his Neue wirbell. Thiere, but his woodcuts of 
the minute structure are somewhat indefinite, and it is thus difficult to recognize the 
species. Only five are indicated by Prof. Grube in the collection of the German 
exploring ship “ Gazelle.” Ehlers found no less than thirty-four in the Annelids 
procured by Alexander Agassiz in the “ Blake,” and he considered them the most 
important group in the collection.^ 
The Eunicidse are discriminated in spirit by their general form, the structure of the 
dental apparatus, branchiae, feet, and bristles. Considerable variety occurs in the 
structure of the dental apparatus, even in the same species, and this is not always due 
to sexual distinction. It must also be borne in mind that changes in outline, as well as 
in colour ensue as age advances. Moreover, the number of teeth in the lateral and 
great dental plates is not always the same. Schmarda, Kinberg, and Ehlers place 
considerable reliance on the dental characters, but Grube, while coinciding with them, 
also points out that there is variation both in these and in the branches of the branchiae. 
On the whole the species are less easily defined than usual in the group, and much 
yet remains to be done in synonymy. It is hoped, however, that the accompanying 
structural figures and descriptions will obviate some of the difficulties of subsequent 
observers. 
The examples procured by the Challenger have, as a rule, lost their tubes. Eunice 
magellanica, however, presents a tendency to branching in its tube, and it is possible 
that such foreign examples may be connected with the branched tubes found in 
sponges and elsewhere. Grube found Eunice siciliensis in tubes in the limestone of 
Quarnero. 
The species range from shallow water to 1240 fathoms. Their food is varied, 
* Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. v., Nos. 11 to 14, p. 273. . 
