bans1 point to the same conclusion. In the southern forms the pallor of the first pair of
scales is characteristic. The Polynoe crassipalpa of Marenzeller from the Adriatio is
a very olosely allied form, but, if the author’s figures and descriptions are to be relied on,
the British form is distinct, the tip of the dorsal bristles alone being characteristic. In
Marenzeller’s specimen also the large anterior eyes are not so near the tip of the peak as
in the British form. ■ Levinsen (1883) seems to think this closely approaches Harmothoe
ljungmani, but the foregoing remarks demonstrate the differences.
3. H ahmothob zitlandioa, McIntosh, 1876.
Specific Characters.—Body sublinear, narrowed anteriorly and posteriorly; bristlebearing
segments thirty-five to thirty-six. Head elongated from before backwards, with
two acute peaks m front. Tentacles and cirri without apparent enlargement below the
tip, and with sparsely distributed short clavate cilia; lateral tentacles inferior. Palpi
minutely papillose. Eyes all visible from the dorsum, the larger anterior pair at the
base of the peaks. Scales fifteen pairs, covering the dorsum, ovate or oval with the
exception of the first pair, which are rounded, with few and indistinct papilte. Dorsal
bristles strongly curved, sharp-pointed, and with distinct rows of spines, the sharp tip
being bare; ventral bristles with short spinous regions and smooth tips, the latter being
hooked and having a long straight secondary process, whioh is parallel and closely applied
to the other division,—that is, no gap is present.
S ynonym.
1876. Harmothoe zetlandica, McIntosh. Trans. Zool. Soc., ix, p. 379, pi. lxviii, f. 4 and 5 • pi Ixix
f. 1. '
Habitat. Dredged in 5 fathoms amongst the tangle-roots in Bressay Sound,
Shetland, July, 1871.
The specimens are about half an inch in length.
Head (XXVIH, fig. 1) somewhat elongated from before backwards, terminating
anteriorly m two pointed lobes on each side of the median tentacle. The eyes are all
visible from the dorsum; the smaller posterior pair lie in front of the nuchal collar, while
the larger anterior pair are situated at the base of the peaks and look laterally and
dorsally. They are not so far forward as the anterior eyes of Harmothoe spinifera.
The cephalic appendages are somewhat short. The median tentacle is not much, if at'
all, enlarged below the filiform tip, and is furnished with a few clavate cilia. In some it
is deeply pigmented at the base, The lateral tentacles are short, enlarged at the base,
but tapering at the tips after the manner of the ventral cirrus, and with sparse but
distinct clavate cilia. The palpi are gently tapered from base to apex, and, while smooth
or only wrinkled under a low power, show minute papilto under a high power. The
tentacular cirri taper from base to apex, have no enlargement below the latter, and have
clavate cilia like those of the median tentacle.
1 ‘ Zeit. f. w, Zool./ xxxiii, p. 276.
Body elongate and somewhat narrow, consisting of about thirty-five bristle-bearing
segments. The segments dorsally present no peculiarity, while inferiorly the depressed
median region proceeds from the buccal fold to the tail. The segmental papillm seem
hardly to project beyond the elevation. The body is of a pale or dull straw-colour, the
translucent scales showing only a few pale touches. Posteriorly the anus projects on a
median process.
Proboscis.—The extruded organ presents nine papillae along each edge, and the teeth
are pale brown.
Scales (Plate XXXII, fig. 15).—The species was formerly stated to have fourteen pairs
of scales, but a re-examination of the broken specimens points to the probability that fifteen
pairs are present. They cover the dorsum, are rather thin, translucent, and soft, and
seem to be smooth under a lens; but under a high power short clavate papillae occur
sparsely along the outer and posterior border, and over the usual area externally. The
papillae along the outer and posterior border are not to be confounded with the
appearances found in the granular area of the epiderm. They are much more minute
than those of allied species. Only a microscopic papilla here and there on the
same border projects beyond the smooth outline. The first pair are small and round,
the size increasing posteriorly to the twelfth, when a diminution again occurs in those
behind. Only a few show a slightly reniform outline, the majority being more or less
ovoid,
Feet.—The first foot shows bristles of the dorsal type.
In the second foot the dorsal bristles are curved, and have well-marked spinous
rows. The ventral bristles, again, differ from the typical forms in the proportionally
longer and more finely spinous regions, and in the simple tip, which is but little hooked.
The third foot has more or less become typical, except that the ventral bristles are
more slender.
The typical foot (Plate XXX, fig. 2) presents dorsally a series of divergent, stout,
sharp-pointed, and brittle bristles, with well-marked transverse spinous rows. The
spinous region has a distinct curve. The smooth portion at the tip is of considerable
length, has a slight bend, and tapers gently to the point (Plate XXXVIII, fig. 20, and
front view, Plate XXXVIII, fig. 20 a). The ventral bristles (Plate XXXVIII, fig. 21)
have superiorly a short spinous part of five or six rows, and a smooth terminal region
which forms a well-marked hook. The secondary process is remarkably long, and passes
straight outward parallel with the former, and in the upper bristles reaches as far as the
terminal hook.
In the terminal feet the dorsal bristles alter little, except that they become smaller
and the spinous rows more prominent. The ventral bristles, again, have shorter shafts
and much more slender and elongate spinous regions and simple tips.
The bristles throughout are pale yellowish, and the dorsal are often loaded with
algoid and other parasitic growths.
The dorsal cirri, like the tentacular cirri, taper from base to apex, which is filiform,
and reaches the extremity of the ventral bristles (in spirit). Their surface has sparsely
distributed short clavate cilia. The ventral cirri are tumid above the basal region, then
taper to the extremity, and have a few clavate cilia.