Palolo — Miller and Pen 
193 
Fig. 2. Palolo showing eggs. About 5 X natural size. 
worth (1907: 7) reports the longest one he 
measured was 30 centimeters (about 12 inches) 
in length, which is also "the average of the 
measurements given by seven authors.” Our 
fresh-frozen specimens were 1 to IVi milli- 
meters in diameter. The females are filled with 
eggs, green in color, and the males with 
reddish-brown sperm. Since there are more 
females than males, the entire mass has a green 
color, resembling some of the edible sea weeds 
of the Enteromorpha species. In reality, the 
palolo which rises is the epitokal or long 
posterior end, i.e., the tail, of the worm. The 
head portion (atokal), which makes up about 
one fourth of the total length, stays in the 
coral rocks and generates a new body (Wood- 
worth, 1907: 7). 
Although marine biologists have been in- 
terested in the palolo for many years and the 
literature relating to taxonomy, morphology, 
and periodicity is extensive, the only chemical 
analyses we have found for Eunice siciliensis are 
those published by von Brand (1927: 688- 
691) as follows: dry matter, 31.19 per cent; 
ash, 2.94 per cent; and fat, 2.97 per cent. 
PROCEDURE 
Sample Analyzed 
The sample of palolo analyzed was ob- 
tained by Mr. Harold Gatty on November 
30, 1953, in the Fiji Islands. Immediately 
after it was collected it was placed in a re- 
frigerator on his launch and taken to Suva 
where it was quick-frozen a little less than 24 
hours after it was gathered. The day that a 
Pan American plane was due from the Antip- 
odes on its way to Honolulu, a thermos jug 
containing the frozen palolo was flown in one 
of Mr. Gatty’s planes from Suva to Nandy. 
At Nandy, it was kept in a refrigerator until 
placed on the Pan American plane (via Canton 
to Honolulu) and in less than 20 hours it was 
in our own freezer. 
Analytical Methods 
The methods used for the determination of 
