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^^^♦»OG,4^

1930

Gift of

Emily Lowes

November, 1930

In Memory of
Her Husband

John Lowes

SEA-SHORE LIFE.

0t\sy $^orh 3tquarium l^aturc M^tvic^ ^umhct \

SEA-8H()RE LIFE

THE INVERTEBRATES OF
THE NEW YORK COAST

ALFRED GOLDSBOROUGH MAYER

Director of the Marine Biological Laboratory of the
Carnegie Institution at Tortugas, Florida

PUBLISHED BY

THE NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY

1905

EDITED AND ARRANGED BY E. R. SANBORN.
PRINTED BY FRANK PRESBREY CO.

The present work is the first of the New York Aquarium
Nature Series. It is designed chiefly as an aid to the study of
the marine invertelDrate life of the region about New York. It
will be found a valuable reference book for visitors studying
the collections of the Aquarium, as the species herein considered
are very largely those which may be seen there alive, from
time to time. The book is a gift of tlie author to the New York
Zoological Society, and the proceeds from all sales are devoted to
the increase of the collections of the Aquarium.

C. H. TOWNSEND,
Director of the Aquariuvi.

OFFICERS

OF THE

Ij^etD ^orh Zoological ^ocictp

President
HON. LEVI r. MORTON

First Vice-President Second Vice-President

HENRY FAIRFIELD OSBORN JOHN L. CADWALADER

©vrcutitir Committcf

CHARLES T. BARNEY, Chainnnn
HENRY FAIRFIELD OSBORN MADISON GRANT

JOHN S. BARNES WILLIAM WHITE NILES

PHILIP SCHUYLER SAMUEL THORNE

LEVI P. MORTON, E.v-Offieio

Secretary Trcusurer

M4DIS0N GRANT PERCY R. PYNE

]1 Wall St. 52 Wall St.

Director of the Zoological /'(/c^,- Director of the Aquarium

WILLIAM T. HORNADAY CHARLES H. TOWNSEND

lS3d St. and Soutliern Boulevard Battery Parh

Slquarium Committee

CHARLES H. TOWNSEND, Chairman

CHARLES L. BRISTOL, University of Keic York

WILLIAM E. DAMON

CHARLES B. r)AVENPORT, Director Biological Lalorafory,

Cold Sprinij llarhor, X. Y.

BASHFORD DEAN, Cohtmhia Univer.sity

ALFRED G. MAYER, Tortugas Laboratory of Carnegie Institution

THOMAS H. xMORGAN, Cohnnhia I'nivrrsity

ROSWELL MORSE SHURTLEFF
EDMUND B, WILSON, Columbia University

PREFACE

nnMIS little work attempts to present in clear, untechnical lan-
guage, a description, accompanied by photographs, of the larger
and more conspicuous marine invertebrates of the coast of New York
State. In order to increase the general usefulness of the work,
however, accounts of the habits of a few creatures from other re-
gions are introduced. Such are: Commercial sponges, crayfishes,
the spiny lobster, the edible shrimp, the orchid land-crab, fresh-
water mussels, the giant clam, the ]3earl oyster, the giant scpiid,
and the chambered nautilus. A brief description of some of our
common "sea squirts," or tunicates, is also given on account of
their interesting position among primitive vertebrates.

This work is intended for readers who may be unfamiliar Avith
the technical tei'ms in use among specialists, and consequently
such terms have been avoided whenever a simple English equival-
ent could be substituted.

Its aim is to increase intelligent interest in the habits and life-
histories of our marine animals, and to disseminate a knowledge of
their appearance and relationships. It is not a textbook of syste-
matic zoology.

It is designed to be of use to the beginner, and with the hope
that a perusal of its pages may stimulate to further study, many
references to works in the English language of a more thorough

10 PREFACE

and pretentious character are given. We hope that it may thus
serve as a stepping-stone to those whose love of nature may lead
them to achieve to that greater delight in her works which can
come only through long and thoughtful study of her manifold
forms and wonderful ways.

Lastly we hope that these pages may serve to render the col-
lections of the Aquarium, and of the Natural History Museums of
New York and Brooklyn more intelligible, and to aid, even if it he
but little, in the educational work which it is the high mission of
these institutions to perform.

It gives the author sincere pleasure to express his gratitude to
the authorities of the Museum of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and
Sciences in allowing him to take photographs of specimens upon
exhibition within the Museum.

Of the 119 figures; HI are derived from photographs of living
or dead specimens, while eight are taken from hitherto unpublished
illustrations. Of the illustrations ; three representing a coral reef
of the Bahamas, the giant squid, and the American octopus are from
paintings by Herbert B. Judy, Esq. The originals are on exhibi-
tion at the Museum of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences.
Five illustrations are from drawings by the author. Of the ill
photographs of animals; one, that of Sagartia leucolena was pre-
sented by Mr. William F. Patterson, while the remainder were
taken bv the author.

CONTENTS

I, Introduction

II. Sponges or Porifrra .

1. Commercial Sponges

IX. Crustaceans

1. Barnacles 5. Sand Fleas

2. Crayfishes C. Crabs

3. Shrimps and Prawns 7. Fiddler Crabs

4. Hermit Crabs 8. Sea Spiders

X. Mollusks

1. Clams, Oysters and Mussels

2. Marine Mussels

3. Fresh-Water Mussels

4. Snails and Slugs

5. Naked Mollusks or Sea Slugs

6. Squid, Octopus and Nautilus

7. Squids or Sea-arrows

XI. Tunicatks

page
15

III. Jellyfishes and Hydroids

IV. Sea Anemones and Corals

V. Starfishes, Se\ Urchins and Sea Cucumbers .

VI. Worms

Vlt. Braciiiopods

Vr[[. Moss Animals and Corallines .... '^

30
40
49

r>2

( t

113

ICG

ILLUSTRATIONS.

FIGURE PAGE

A CoHAL Reef of the

Bahamas . . . Frontispiece

1 Living CoMMEuriAi. Sponge . 26

2 Skeleton of the CoMMEiiciM,

Sponge 26

3 Ret. Sponge 27

4 Red Sponge 27

5 Clam Shell infesteu with

boring Sponge .... 28

6 The Finger Sponge .... 28

7 Urn Sponge 29

8 Portuguese Man-of-Wai; . . 30

9 MiLKY-wsK Jellyfish ... 33

10 Speckled .Jellyfish .... 34

11 GONIONEMUS MuRBAcnii . . 35

12 Passion-flower HyoROiD . . 36

13 Eel-grass Hydroid .... 37

14 Sea-pu ME 38

1.5 Eyed-coral 40

16 Star-coral, showing living

POLYPS 41

17 Stony Skeleton OF Star-cor.vl 42

18 Fleshy Coral 12

19 Brown Sea-Anemone .... 43

20 Brown Sea- Anemone (contracted) 44

21 White-armed Anemone . . 45

22 Sand-Anemone 46

23 Cake-Anemone 48

24 Common Starfish 50

25 Horseshoe Crab, Common Star-

fish AND Green Sea-Urchin 52

26 Blood-Star 54

27 Mud-Star 55

28 GLiNT Starfish 56

29 Brittle Star ...... 57

30 Basket Starfish 58

31 Purple Sea-Urcuin . , . , 58

FIGURE

page

32 Sand-Doi.lar

33 Brittle Sea-Cucumber . .

. 61

34 Ribbon-worm and Opal-worm

35 Sea-mouse

. 65

36 Clam Worm

37 Red Thread Worm . . .

. 67

38 Four-jawed Worm . . .

39 Fringed Worm

. 68

40 Tufted Worm

41 Blood-spot Worm ....

. 69

42 Dead Scallop Shell . .

43 Parchment Shells growing upon

A STONE

. 72

44 Moss- Animal

45 False Corai

. 76

46 Young Rock-crab . . .

47 Rock-crab

. 79

48 R(.)CK covered with Rock Bar-

nacles

49 Deep-water Barnacles . .

. 81

50 Whale Barnacle . . .

. 82

52 Stalked Barnacles . . .

. 82

52 American Lobster . . .

. 83

53 Spiny Jjibster

. 85

54 Snapping-prawn ....

. 86

55 Brook Crayfish ....

. 88

56 Common Shrimp ....

. 89

57 SiiiuMi's AND Prawns . . .

. 90

58 Southern, or Edible Shrimp

59 62 Hermit Crab ....

92 94

63 Little Hermit Crab . .

. 94

64 Sanhbug

. 95

65 Mantis Shrimp ....

. 95

66 Sand Fleas

. 97

67 Blue, or Edible Crab . .

. 99

68 Green Crab

. 100

69 fjADY Crab

. 101

ILLUSTRATIONS

FIGURE I'AOK

70 Gui.F-wEEo Crab 101

71 JoxAH Crab; Rock Crau . . 103

72 Female Oyster Crab .... lOl

73 Ghost Crab 105

74 Fiddler Crab 105

75 BiRROws OF Fiddler Crab . 106

76 Orchid Lxm> Crab .... 107

77 Male Spider Crab; Female

Si'iDER Crab; Ghost Crab;

Mid Crab 109

78 ACiVNTHOPLEIRA (IRANI LATA . . Ill

79 Mussels exposed at low tide . 117

80 Americvn Oyster 122

81 Sl-rf Clam 123

82 Soft-shell Clam 124

83 LiTTLE-SECK Clam .... 125

84 Razor Clam 126

85 Sand-bar Clam 126

86 S\VIMMIN(i Cl AM 127

87 Bloody Clam 127

88 Ship Worm with siphons

PliilTRITHNO 128

89 Con Clam 129

90 KlilBLE MUSSEI 130

91 Ribbed Missel 130

92 Roc K-BORINO MrssEi 131

93 Razor Shell 131

90 Co.MMON Scallop 133

96 Arctic Scallop 134

KiGi re page

97 Jingle Shell upon a rock . .135

98 Northern Sand-Collar Snail 130

99 Southern Sand-Collar Snail . 140

100 Northern Sand-Collah Snail 141

101 Knobbed Whelk; Channelled

Whelk 142

102 English Whelk and Egg

Cocoons 143

94 Horse MussEt 143

103 Rock Snails 144

104 Ten-ribbed Snail 145

105 Oyster Drili 146

106 Nassa Trivittata; Nassa Obso-

LETA 146

107 Periwinkles clustering upon a

ROCK 147

108 Periwinkle 147

109 Periwinklr; Sea-weed Snail . 148

1 10 Floating Snaii 149

111 Eel (Jrass covered with

Periwinkles 150

112 Decker Shell 150

113 Octopus Americanis .... 153

114 CiiAMBEREn, OR Pearly Nai Tin s 157

115 Bllnt-tah.ed Squid .... 160

116 Gi.ANT Squid 162

117 Paper Nautilus 164

118 C'lONA Intestinai.is .... 168

119 ^[ni.GiTA ^Fanilattensis . . 170

INTRODUCTION

"IV'ATURALISTS have come to believe that all of the higher
animals and plants have descended from simpler forms which
lived in the past; and that these in turn were derived from even
simpler ancestors. Indeed, it is possible that all animate nature
is the offspring of one primitive living cell which contained within
itself the power of giving rise to all of the plant and animal life
of our world.

But although we know not how or when life originated, science
has been able to make known some few of the remarkable changes
which have come over animate forms under the influences of evolu-
tion, and natural selection.

Excellent examples of such changes are exhibited in the great
Hall of Vertebrate Fossils at the American Museum of Natural
History, where we may see a series of fossil skeletons which prove
that the horse was once a four-toed creature hardly larger than a
fox but that now it walks upon its middle toe, the side ones having
disappeared. Another series of fossils shows that in Eocene times
the camel was also a little four-toed creature; but nt)w there are but
two toes on each foot, the side ones having disaiDpeared.

A careful study of living creatures has shown that, while off-
spring usually bear a close resemblance to their j^arents, a few
dejDart widely from the parental types, and that some of these de-
partures show a strong tendency to maintain themselves, through
inheritance, for generation after generation. But this is not all,
for we know that animals and plants tend to increase at a rate so
enormous that, shoxild all survive, the land would soon be densely
covered and the ocean completely filled with living creatures.
This, however, is prevented by the constant comjDetition for life.
Only those few that are able to conquer in the strife for food and
space can survive, and myriads of the Aveak and unfit must perish.
Whole races have succumbed to this competition. Not one of the

16 SEA-SHORE LIFE

trilobites, more than 1700 species of wliich existed in the Cambrian
and Silurian rocks, survives to-day ; and the sea lilies, which once
grew in vast colonies along our shores, are now represented by only
a few rare species in the deep ocean.

The older naturalists did not realize the vastness of the destruc-
tion which this baUle for life has wrought, and thought that each
species was a separate creation that had existed unchanged since
the beginning. We now know that species appear to be distinct
one from another because the intermediate forms have died out;
and the longer a once closely related group of species has existed,
the wider do their differences become until we may look in vain
for the "linking forms" which once connected all of them.

For example, we know that the vertebrates are recent, and are
descended from the far more ancient invertebrates. Accordingly,
we find that there are but few breaks in the chain of forms rang-
ing from the lowest fishes to the mammals. Indeed, the eml)ryos
of the highest mammals display gill slits in their necks, which soon
close ov-er, but which were of nse throughout life in their fish-like
ancestors. When we study the invertebrates, however, we find
wide gaps so that no one has yet been able to determine the rela-
tionships of some of the greatest groups.

For example, we can not tell how the sponges, jellyfishes, eclii-
noderms or worms may be related one to another, but on the other
hand we have reason for the belief that crustaceans and insects are
descended from worm-like ancestors, and that moUusks may pos-
sibly have had a somewhat similar origin.

It is interesting to observe that we meet with the same condi-
tions among plants. The algte and fungi show -wide gaps which
prevent one from arranging them in any connected series, whereas
the flowering plants, which are certainly more recent and have
descended from non-flowering forms, can be arranged in a fairly
regular chain, leading gradually from the lowest to the highest.

We must bear in mind, however, that recent studies by Bate-
son, de Vries and others tend to show that new species may appear
suddenly as the offspring of old and well known forms; and that
these new and peculiar animals or plants may, through inheritance,
perpetuate their new peculiarities. There may then be no inter-
mediate or "linking" forms between the old and the new species.

INTRODUCTION 17

A large number of marine animals whose true home is among
the Bahamas, or West Indies, are drifted upon the southern coast
of Long Island by the southerly Avinds of the summer months
and become quite abundant along our shores in August. From
November until April, however, the northerly and easterly winds
prevail, and these drift down upon us a host of creatures wdiose
home is in the cold arctic water. We see then that tropical and
sub-tropical animals are found along our coast in summer and early
autumn, while arctic creatures live there in winter and spring.
There are. however, an even greater number of creatures which are
permanent residents, and are to be found with us in some stages of
their lives at all seasons of the year.

Many marine animals or plants thrive only between tides, and
must be exposed to the air for at least an hour or two every day.
Such are the barnacles, some snails, and the great masses of olive-
green seaweed with gas filled cavities in its stems called Fucus.
Others, such as the brown, salmon-pink, and white sea anemones
(Metridium marginatum J and the common starfish ( Asterias foi-be-
siij, delight in the shallow tide-pools but do not thrive if long ex-
posed to the air.

Great numbers of creatures live along the coast beyond the
influence of the tides and find their homes among the eel-grass,
under stones or mud, or roaming freely through the water.

Others, such as the Portugese man-o-war fPhymliaJ, the beau-
tiful, purple floating snail (Jantlnna), and a host of jellyfishes and
crustaceans find themselves at home far out at sea and never come
near land unless drifted along the coast by accident. Such are
the creatures which even thousands of miles from land cause the
ocean to glisten with brilliant flecks of phosphorescent light, if
the water be agitated at night.

But there are other creatures which spend their whole lives
upon the bottom of the deep sea, and have been dredged from all
depths down to four and one-half miles. Here they live in the ice-
cold water of the depths, where the darkness is profound and where
no current moves. Many of them have A-ery large eyes, or are pro-
vided with remarkably long or delicate "feelers," and phosphores-
cent areas upon their skins, and thus they find their way around
in their cold, dark, changeless world. A considerable number of

18 • SEA-SHORE LIFE

these deep-sea creatures belong to types which once liv-ed in shallow
water along our coasts, but which died out long ago, and are
known to us only through their fossils in the rocks.

Marine animals are much more abundant along or near conti-
nental coasts than in the open sea far from land, for we must bear
in mind that animal life can subsist only upon plant life and that
the great food supply furnished by the shallows of a shore are most
favorable for the development of a varied fauna.

The great ocean currents, such as the Gulf Stream in the At-
lantic, and the Kuroshiwo of the Pacific are the bearers of vast
hordes of floating creatures which are thus carried from the tropics
far into the temperate regions. Temperature is also a great factor
in determining the distribution of marine life. On our own coast,
for example, Ave find that the cold arctic water creeps down the
New England coast to Cape Cod, while south of that place the shore
water is warmed during the summer by the drift from the Gulf
Stream. Accordingly a great number of southern forms extend
only as far north as Cape Cod, and similarly many of the arctic
creatures can not survive in summer in the warm Avater south of
that cape.

It is even more interesting to see that at Cape Breton, Nova
Scotia, we find a number of creatures Avhose true home is south of
Cape Cod, Massachusetts, but which are able to live in the warm
water at the mouth of the St. Lawrence, where the Gulf Stream
approaches the coast for the last time before its final deflection
into the midst of the Atlantic.

So important is temperature in determining the distribution
of marine life, that while the creatures of the tropical Atlantic and
Pacific on opposite sides of the Globe are, broadly speaking, quite
similar, those living north of Cape Cod are almost wholly different
from those of the Florida coast.

But the most remarkable condition is seen in the distribution
of the creatures of the deep sea, for here the temperature is nearly
the same everywhere, being only slightly above the freezing point.
Accordingly many of these animals range from Arctic to Antarctic,
and from Atlantic to Pacific.

Many forms that live only in deep, cold water, south of Cape
Cod come into the shallows on the Maine coast.

INTRODUCTION 19

In the Arctic regions we find vast numbers of individnals of
but few species, Avliereas in tlie tropics tlie individuals are little or
no more numerous, bnt the number of species much greater than
in cold regions.

It is a mistake to assume that animals invariably become rarer
as we approach the limit of their range; for example, the common
scallop is very abundant in Provincetown Harbor, Cape Cod, but is
all but unknown north of that place.

An interesting account of the distribution of deep sea animals,
and of the floating life, is given by Alexander Agassiz in "Three
Cruises of the Blake," 2 vols., 1888, Bulletin of Museum of Com-
parative Zoology at Harvard College ; and a very general discussion
of the distribution of animals as a Avhole is given by Professor A.
Heilprin in "The International Scientific Series," Vol. LVII, 1887.

The study of intelligence in lower animals is a subject of fas-
cinating interest. Nevertheless popular writings upon such mat-
ters are usually in error, for the authors are too apt to conclude
that when the actions of an animal appear "sensible" from our
point of view, or evidently serve a useful purpose, they must
necessarily be conscious. For example : the caterpillar of the mon-
arch butterfly fDanais areltippusj feeds only upon milkweed, and is
generally found upon the tender young leaves near the top of the
plant, whore it is surrounded by the juiciest and most nutricious
food. Experiments by the author show, however, that we can not
conclude that the caterpillar exercises any conscious choice or
reason in the matter, for its being there is due to two simple reac-
tions. It has an inborn tendency to crawl upward rather than down-
ward, and it is also strongly inclined to crawl toward the light. If
one plant a milkweed in a ilower-pot, and then turn it upside-down
the caterpillars will soon crawl upward toward the light of the sky,
and will thus wander away from the plant and starve to death,
although under normal conditions these two reactions would serve
to maintain them in the best situation for obtaining food, and pre-
vent their roaming away from the plant.

Nagel and Parker have also shown that if we place a piece of
meat upon certain of the tentacles of a sea-anemone, the meat is
rapidly thrust into the mouth. If then we place a piece of paper
soaked in a weak solution of meat juice it is at first swallowed, but

20 SEA-SHORE LIFE

after a few trials it is invariably rejected. The tentacles on the
other side of the animal will, however, conduct the paper to
the mouth even after those on the side first exiDcrimented upon
no longer accept it, and it is evident that the experience of one side
of the animal has no effect upon the other side.

It seems reasonable to assume that if an animal can be trained
or can learn by exiDerience it has associative memory, and therefore
must be conscious, but it is certain that sponges, jellyfishes and
worms have no trace of associative memory.

On the other hand Robert Yerkes has shown that the green
crab can learn to travel by the shortest path through a labyrinth to
its food.

It is also believed that the squids and octopi, which are the
highest inollusks, have associative memory.

However, practically all of the instincts of marine inverte-
brates are inherited, and the behavior of the animal is not altered
by personal experience or association with its fellows. They re-act
to external stimuli with almost machine-like regularity, and we
can generally predict what effect a ray of light, a current of elec-
tricity, the attraction of gravity or a change of temperature will
have upon the behavior of the animal.

Essentially the same statements may be made concerning the
re-actions of our own heart, lungs and digestive organs, and there
is no more reason for the assumption that the lower marine animals
are conscious, than that these organs of ours are conscious. The
instincts of most marine animals are inborn and are inherited from
generation to generation, whereas in higher forins some of the
instincts are acquired by personal experience, and are not present
at birth or necessarily predestined to appear during life.

Interesting studies of this subject are given by C. Lloyd
Morgan in "Animal Intelligence," London, 1890; and by Jacques
Loeb, in "Comparative Physiology of the Brain and Comparative
Psychology," 1902.

It has been proved that each and every animal and plant be-
gins life as a single cell, and that the body of the individual is
built up as a result of the division ajid consequent multiplication
of this cell. Indeed, in one great group, the Protozoa the entire
animal consists of but a single cell, which performs all of the life-

INTRODUCTION 21

functions. In higher forms, however, the body is composed of an
organized system of cells wherein we see a division of labor, some
of the cells being digestive, others muscular, others serving to con-
duct nervous impulses, etc.

In the great majority of marine animals the eggs or young
larvfe are cast out into the water, and it is interesting to ob-
serve that even such sedentary forms as clams, oysters, starfishes,
sea anemones, corals, etc., are nearly all free-swimming in their
early life.

It has long been known to naturalists that, in their develop-
ment, animals pass through stages which recall the adult states of
their more simply organized ancestors of the remote past, and Avhen
it was discovered that the vast majority of marine larva? are free-
swimming, it seemed probable that the most ancient marine ani-
mals were so, and that the sedentary habits of life seen in sponges,
corals, mollusks, etc., were of comparatively recent origin. We must
not forget, however, that the free-swimming habits of the young are
of immense advantage in leading to a wide distribution of animals,
and that it may therefore have been maintained through the agency
of natural selection at all times, or have been brought about as a
result of adaptation.

The stages passed through in the development of all animals
are so complex, and yet show such a striking similarity of plan
that there can be no doubt of the blood relationship of all forms one
to another.

As this is a most interesting and important matter, we will
devote some space to its consideration.

We will first speak of a typical case of development, such as
is seen in the common starfish, and will then consider the more
complex conditions exhibited in the worms, crustaceans and
mollusks.

The immature eggs of the starfish resemble a minute sphere, in
the centre of which we find a small round body called the nucleus.

When the egg is cast out into the water this nucleus divides
into two nuclei, both exactly like the original nucleus. One of
these new nuclei is, however, soon detached from the egg as a minute
ball, and is thrown out into the water. The nucleus which still
remains in the egg then divides into two half-nuclei, and one of

22- SEA-SHORE LIFE

these is constricted olT and cast out, leaving the egg with only a
half-nucleus.

The egg is then mature and ready to be fertilized. This is
accomplished by a single male germ cell, called a spermatozoon,
myriads of which are cast out into the water by the male starfishes
at the same time that the females are setting free their eggs. Each
spermatozoon is an exceedingly minute cell with a globular front
end, and along lash-like extremity, the movements of which drive
it rapidly through the water.

The globular front end of a single spermatozoon penetrates the
egg and fuses with the half-nucleus; and it is most interesting to
observe that this front end of the spermatozoon is itself a half-
nucleus, in appearance similar to the half-nucleus of the egg. In
this manner then is tlie final nucleus of the egg made up of two
half-nnclei, one of Avhich is introduced by the male, while the
other is maternal and belongs to the egg itself.

After fertilization a Avonderful process sets in. This is called
cleavage or cell division. First of all the nucleus divides into two
similar nuclei, and these separate while at the same time the egg
becomes cut into two, so that each half contains a nucleus. The
halves of the egg do not, however, remain far apart but apply them-
selves closely one to another, so that soon only a shallow furrow
marks the position of the cleft which cut them in two. After a
few minutes of rest the egg suddenly divides again, each half being
cut into two, and this process is repeated again, and again, untd
we have a great number of little cells all gathered together into
a ball hardly larger than the original egg.

Soon, however, we see that the ball is not a solid mass of cells,
for the centre becomes hollow and filled with fluid, while the cells
range themselves round the central cavity in a single layer. The
creature thus becomes a hollow ball, the wall of the ball being
composed of a single layer of cells. It is then that we first observe
any active movement on the part of the embryo, for the outer sur-
faces of the cells become covered with minute hair-shaped lashes
the rapid movements of which cause it to spin through the water.
This little, hollow, ball-like embryo is called a hlastula. Soon an
interesting change takes place, for a part of the wall becomes
pressed inward as one might squeeze in the side of a hollow ruli-
Iger ball. This process is called "invagination,"

INTRODUCTION 23

The little embryo then has an inside layer of cells as well as an
outside layer, and is called a gastrula. The cells of the pressed-in
part are destined to give rise to the stomach, intestine and diges-
tive glands. On the other hand the onter surface of the embryo
gives rise to the skin and nervous S3'stein.

All animals from the sponges up to man pass through a gas-
trnla stage in which the body consists only of an outer and an inner
layer. In many cases, however, as in worms, crustaceans, insects,
mollusks, amphibia, reptiles and birds, the egg contains more or
less 3'olk to provide nutriment for the developing embryo, and this
introduces modifications of the process of cleavage, and formation
of the gastrula so that it has taken long and careful study to
discover that all embryos are at one time in the gastrula stage.
Indeed, Huxley discovered that the jellyfishes were practically gas-
trulce even when adult, for they have only a digestive cavity and an
outer skin. In all forms above the jellyfishes, howev^er, we find a
system of cells which come to lie between the digestive sac and the
outer skin, and wliich gives rise to the muscles, and in higher forms
to the skeleton. Although it will be impossible to do more than to
present this crude sketch of the general processes of embryology,
one will find a most fascinating field for thought in the study of
such admirable works as "The Cell in Development and Inher-
itance," by Edmund B. Wilson, or the " Text-Book of the Embry-
ology of Invertebrates," by Korschelt and Heider, Macmillan Co.

A most readable and yet condensed discussion of general em-
bryology is given by Richard Hertwig in "Manual of Zoology,"
1902, translated by J. S. Kingsley, p. 139-164.

A list of a few of the more general and popular Avorks upon our
marine animals may be of aid to those who desire to seriously study
the subject

For beginners who are engaged in collecting marine animals,
and who desire to learn of their relationships, habits, structure and
names, we Avould suggest :

E. C. and A. Agassiz : Seaside Studies in Natural History, Tick-
nor and Fields, 1805. 155 pages; 186 illustrations. A clear,
popular, account of the structure and habits of our jellyfishes, sea
anemones and star fishes and sea-urchins.

C, B. and G. C. Davenport : Introduction to Zoology, Macmil-

24 SEA-SHORE LIFE

Ian Company, 19(X). 412 pages; 306 illustrations, many of them
being photographs from life. Most readable accounts of the rela-
tionships of various forms, and also of their habits and anatomy.
A. F. Arnold : The Sea-Beach at Ebb-Tide; Century Company,

1901. 490 pages; 85 plates and numerous figures, most of which
are taken from previous publications. A good description of each
species, and interesting chapters upon the relationships of each
great group of the invertebrates.

A. E. Verrill and S. I. Smith : Report upon the Invertebrate
Animals of Vineyard Sound and Adjacent Waters. Report of the
U. S. Fish Commission, 1871-2, 478 pages, 38 plates, 287 figures.
Excellent accounts of habits and distribution, together with clear
outline drawings of some of the animals.

G. B. Goode, etc.: The Fisheries and Fishery Industries of the
United States. U. S. Fish Commission, 1884. Two vols., 895 pages,
277 plates. Valuable to fishermen and collectors.

Good general textbooks upon zoology, eml^ryology and anat-
omy for those who have had the benefit of an elementary course in
zoology :

Richard Hertwig: A Manual of Zoology ; Henry Holt & Co.

1902. Translated by J. S. Kingsley. Korschelt and Heider,
Textbook of Embryology of Invertebrates, Macmillan Company,
4 volumes, 1895-1900. Arnold Lang: Textbook of Comparative
Anatomy, Macmillan, 1891-'96, 2 volumes.

Every student of zoology should read Darwin's "Origin of
Species." This work is to the natural sciences what Newton's "Prin-
cipia " is to the physical and mathematical sciences. But it is more
than an epoch making work, throwing a flood of brilliant liglit upon
the dark mysteries of life. Its greatest inspiration to us comes
because it is the record of one, who, after years of studious labor,
performed under conditions of extreme distress which only love of
truth could conquer, came into a realm of thought wherein he saw
darkly and imperfectly, what we were, what our race had been, and
what our possibilities. His characteristics were simplicity, honesty,
and courageous thoroughness; fearlessly follow^ing the lead of truth
far toward the limit of human understanding.

SPONGES OR PORIFERA

SPONGES are animals. The ordinary bath sponge is only the
horny skeleton which in life was encased by living cells. In
every living sponge, water is drawn in through numerous small open-
ings, and thrown out through large ones. This water passes through
the intricate channels of the sponge which are lined with thousands
of minute cells, each provided with a collar, and a thread-like lash,
which serves to capture and engulf the minute animals and plants
that are drawn in with the water. In some sponges the skeleton is
calcareous, and is composed of a vast number of curiously shaped
spicules. In others it is mainly horny and fibrous as in commercial
sponges, while in some, such as the Venus basket of the China
Sea, it is glassy. The eggs develop within the sponge itself and
are usually cast out as minute spherical or oblong larvte covered
with cilia which enable the little creatures to swim rapidly through
the water. In a few hours or days, however, they settle to the bot-
tom and soon grow into sponges. Sponges of the same species often
vary greatly in form, in accordance with the situation in which they
grow, and they possess so little individuality that two sponges
growing side by side will often fuse into one large mass. Sponges
may also be cut into pieces, and each piece Avill grow into a perfect
sponge. Good accounts of our American sponges are given by
Hyatt, Memoirs of the Boston Society of Natural History, 1875 and
1877, and Lambe, Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada,
1892-94, 1896, 1900.

COMMERCIAL SPONGES

Our commercial sponges are found living only in the warmer
seas, such as the waters of Florida, the West Indies, the Red Sea
and Mediterranean. The sponges from Florida and the West
Indies are inferior to those of the old world. There are many va-
rieties of the commercial sponge but they all belong to the genus
Spoitgia and have a skeleton made up of tough, closely meshed, horny

SEA-SHORE LIFE

Fig I ; LIVING COMISIEECIAL SPONGE

(Glove Sponge) The Bahama Islands.

libres. The Qesliy parts which cover the skeleton are dark brown
or black, and as the living sponge is usually more or less covered

with mild or silt it is far from
attractive in appearance, or
pleasant in odor.

There are ahvays a great
number of little pores on the
sides of the sponge, and water
is drawn through these by
means of the constant lashing
of vast numbers of cilia which
are borne upon the cells lining
the passages. This water is
forced out through one or
m(n-e larger openings at the
top of the sponge. In this
manner the sponge tissues
are aerated and the sponge
captures the minute organisms upon which it feeds. Commercial
sponges do not grow at depths greater than 200 feet, and the vast
majority are obtained in
water less than thirty
feet deep, the best varie-
ties being found at the
greatest depth.

The water is so Avon-
derfully clear in the re-
gions where they grow,
that the fishermen mere-
ly use a bucket having a
pane of glass in the bot-
tom through which they
look in scanning the bot-
tom for sponges. The
sponge is drawn up by
a pair of hooks fastened
to the end of a Avooden
pole. It is allowed to die, and is buried in dry sand until it is

Fig. 2; THE HORNV SKELETON OF THE

COMMEKCIAL SPONGE (Glove Sponge)

from the Bahama Islands.

SPONGES OR PORIFERA

Fig. 3; RED SPONGE, Long
Island Sound.

much decomposed, and then it is washed in the water to remove all
of the fleshy parts, leaving only the tough, horny sl^eleton, which
may be bleached in weak hydrochloric acid and hyposulphite of

soda.

Sponges grow best on hard bottoms where there is a consider-
able current to bring food, and to pro-
vide them with an abundance of aerated
water. In Florida there are fiv^e varie-
ties of sponges called " sheepswool,"
"yellow," "grass," "velvet" and "glove
sponges."

The Sheepswool Sponges, (Spongia
equina gossypina,), are most valuable,
the fishery being worth about S 250,000
annually. The fibrous skeleton is very
tough and fine meshed, and the inter-
ior of the sponge is cavernous while
the outer surface is covered with woolly

looking tufts of fibres. This is the common large bath sponge.

The Yellow Sponge, (Spongia agari-
cinaj, lacks the woolly tufts characteris-
tic of the sheepswool, and its surface is apt
to be fairly even, with numerous pit-like
pores. The fishery is woi'th about $15,-
000 annually.

The Grass Sponge, (Spongia grami-
neaj, has the shape of a truncated cone
the broad end being uppermost. The up-
per surface contains all of the large open-
ings and is usually depressed, giving the
sponge a cup-shape. The sides are furrowed with numerous small
openings between the ridges. The fishery is worth about $20,000
annually.

In the Velvet Sponge, (Spongia equina ineandriformis,), the
surface is apt to show winding channels bordered by flat ridges of
fibre. The least valuable is the Glove Sponge (Spongia officinalis
tuhidifera, Figs. 1, 2), in which the surface is quite even with dense
fibres which project outward in fine tufts. The sponge is lasually

Fig. 4; RED SPONGE, Long
Island Sound.

SEA-SHORE LIFE

.•-si... i,.>»> -,,

Fig. 5/ Clam Shell infested with Boring
Sponge, Long Island Sound.

dome-shaped, not more than eight inches in diameter, and the fibres

b'ecome brittle with age.

S^Donges are reproduced
from eggs which develop into
free swimming larvEe, but soon
settle down upon the bottom
and grow into tlie sponge form.
They will also grow very read-
ily from cuttings or spores, and
almost any fragment of a
sponge is capable under favor-
able conditions of regenerating
a perfect sponge.

A well illustrated paper
giving an account of the com-
mercial sponges of Florida is
given by Dr. H. M. Smith in

Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission, Vol. XVIT, 1897,

p. 225-240.

Among non-commercial sponges, the Red Sponge, (Microciona

prolifera, Figs. S, 4), is foimd in shallow water from South Carolina

to Cape Cod, and is very abundant

upon oyster and scallop shells in

Long Island Sound. It can be at

once recognized by its brilliant

crimson color. When young it

forms broad, thin incrustations,

but later it gives rise to branches

which may be four inches in

height.

The Boring Sponge, (Clioiia

sulplinrea, Fig. 5), a sulphur-col-
ored sponge, is very destructive

to the shells of oysters, clams, etc.

It completely honeycombs and

dissolves the shell, riddling it

with galleries and holes, and finally growing over the outside. It

is abundant along the sIku^cs from South Carolina to Cape Cod.

Fig. 6; THE FINGER SPONGE, Salem
Harbor, Massachusetts.

SPONGES OR PORIFERA

The Finger Sponge, (Clialina oeulata, Fig. 6), is dull red or
yellow in color and grows upon rocks or shells, forming finger-
shai^ed masses about six inches high. At intervals there are large
openings on the sides of the sponge which serve to allow the escape
of water from the interior. This sponge is common north of
Cape Cod at depths greater than fifteen feet.

The Sulphur Sponge, (Suherites compaetaj, is a compact, heavy
sponge which grows on sandy bottoms o\Y the Long Island coast.
When living it is bright yellow, but soon
darkens into an ugly brown after death.
The surface of the sponge is smooth, rounded
and nodular.

The Urn Sponge, ( Grant ia ciliata, Fig.
7 ), is common in tide pools on Long Island
where it grows in clusters of little urn-shaped
sponges, each urn being dull yellow, gray
or dral) in color, about one-half of an inch
high, and with a large opening edged with
spicules at the summit. It is found along
our coast northward to Greenland, and is
abundant on the northern coasts of Europe,
being drawn in through sieve-like oj^enings on the sides of the
sponge and forced out through the large terminal opening.

Fig. 7/ URN SPONGE,
Woods Holl, Mass.

Water is constantly

JELLYFISHES AND HYDROIDS

>'i-

\ JELLYFISH is an umbrella-shaped creature with tentacles
-^^^ and sense organs arranged at intervals around the outer edge
of the umbrella, while the mouth and stomach occupy the position

of the umbrella handle.
This description applies
Avell to the large jelly fishes
called Scyp]io))iednsce, but
the smaller kinds called
liydroniedusce have a deli-
cate membrane extending
inward all around from the
umbrella-edge forming a
diaphragm which partially
closes the opening of the
umbrella. Jellyfishes swim
by rythmatically opening
and closing their umbrella-
like bodies.

Jellyfishes are carni-
vorous, feeding upon small
fishes, Crustacea, or one an-
other. They capture their
prey by means of their ten-
tacles which are armed
{^f I with thousands of little

' < ^ '^ cells each containing a

S ) minute coiled tube so slen-

( '" der that it appears to be

'') a mere thread. When ex-

cited these cells burst, and
F,-^. 8; PORTUGUESE MAN-OF-WAR. ^j^g j-^^jg threads are shot

out with such force that they penetrate the skin of the victim, carry-
ing with them a poison which quickly paralyzes a small fish. The

JELLYFISHES AND HYDROIDS 31

victim is then held in the stomach of the jellyfish for a few hours
or days and the undigested remnant is ejected through the mouth.
In common with other low invertebrates, the rate at which jelly fishes
grow is dependent upon their supply of food. Indeed one can ob-
serve them enlarge after every meal, and when starved tliey con-
tract in size.

The great majority of the jelly fishes are so small as to escape
ordinary observation, but are on the other hand so numerous as
often to cause a brilliant phosphorescence of the sea at night.

The eggs of jellyfishes do not usually develop directly into
new jellyfishes. In the large jellyfishes fScyplwmedusceJ the egg
develops into a little pear-shaped creature whose body is covered
with vibrating cilia which enable it to swim rapidly. Soon it set-
tles down, and the narrow end adheres to the bottom. Then a
mouth and a row of tentacles appear at the upper end. The little
creature then grows for some months until suddenly it begins to
constrict at intervals, and finally to split up into a series of thin, flat
disks, each one of which swims off and grows into a separate
jellyfish.

In the smaller jellyfishes (Hydnwicdnscc) the egg changes
into a beautiful little tree-shaped animal called a hydroid, and this
gives rise to many little jellyfishes which bud out from it in various
ways. Some jellyfishes, however, do not give rise to hydroids and
many hydroids do not develop jellyfishes.

Descriptions of the jellyfishes of our Atlantic coast will be
found in "North American Acalephre," A. Agassiz, 1865; "Contri-
butions to the Natural History of the United States," Vol. Ill, 1860,
by Louis Agassiz ; C. W. Hargitt in "The American Naturalist,"
1901, Vol. XXXV ; " Das System der Medusen," by Haeckel ; 3 vols.,
1879-80, and "Medusa from The Tortugas, Florida," in the Bul-
letin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard, Vol.
XXXVII, 1900 by A. G. Mayer.

The Portuguese Man-of-War, /P/«/ysaZm nrethusa, Fig. 8). This
beautiful animal is sometimes seen floating along our coast late in
summer, but its home is in the tropical Atlantic and the Gulf Stream.
The large pear-shaped float is filled Avith atmospheric air, and beau-
tiful iridescent blues and pinks play over its surface and along its
comb-like crest. Attached to the float there is a complex colony of

32 SEA-SHORE LIFE

tentacles, finger-shaped feeding mouths, and grape-like clusters of
reproductive organs. The tentacles are arranged in clusters, some
being long and others short. When the wind blows, the long tentacles
stretch out fully fifty feet, thus forming a drag to prevent a too
rapid drifting of the colony. These tentacles are flat and ribbon-
like and along one edge we see a purple line of bead-like stinging
organs, which serve in the capture of fishes upon which the Physalia
feeds. They inflict a most painful sting, and almost instantly par-
alyze small fishes. When a fish comes in contact with the tentacles
they immediately adhere to it, and the struggles of the fish cause
the tentacles to contract, thus bringing the prey within reach of the
numerous mouths which soon fasten upon it. If the fish does not
struggle the tentacles soon cease to contract, and thus the mouths
may be unable to seize upon their food. Despite its formidable
weapons, however, the Physdlia is greedily devoured by Loggerhead
turtles, but the turtle always closes its eyes when it seizes the prey.

When very young the Physalia may sink for a time beneath
the surface upon discharging the gas from its float; but in later life
it loses this ability and remains constantly floating over the ocean
at the mercy of the winds and currents. Only male Portuguese
men-of-war are known, the female never having been observed.

Velella iitutica, is an exquisite creature rarely seen along our
coast, but it occurs in great swarms in the tropical Atlantic. The
body is an oblong disk about four inches long, and deep blue-green
in color. The upper side of the disk is occupied by the chambered ,
gas-filled float which is chitinous, and gives rise to a sail-like crest.
On the under side of the disk we find a large central feeding-mouth
surrounded on all sides by numerous little mouths and reproduc-
tive polypites. Near the outer edge of the under side of the disk
there is a row of long blue tentacles. Large numbers of little jelly-
fishes are constantly budding off from the sides of the reproductive
polypites and swimming away in the water; but their further de-
velopment is unknown.

Porpita linnmana, is related to Velella but is smaller, being
only about one inch in diameter. Also the disk is flat and circular,
and there is no sail-like ridge to the float. When seen in the water
it appears as a deep blue circle, while the chambered float at the cen-
tre glistens with a beautiful greenish iridescence. Underneath we

JELLYFISHES AND HYDROIDS

Fig. 9.

MILKY-DISK JELLYFISH,

Vineyard Sound.

find feeding polypites, reproductive polypites and tentacles very

much as in Velella.

Poi'iyita is rare along our coast, but between Cuba and South

Carolina it is sometimes so abundant as to fleck the ocean for miles

with specks of brilliant blue.
The Sea-Blidaber, (Cija-

nea arctica), is the largest

known jellyfish. In the cold

waters north of Cape Cod it

grows to huge proportions,

and one was found by Dr.

Alexander Agassi z which

measured seven and one-half

feet across the disk and

whose tentacles were fully

one hundred and twenty feet

long. On the Long Island
coast, however, it grows to
a much smaller size and
thrives only in spring and early summer, disappearing about the
middle of June. Large as these creatures are, however, when
dried in the sun it is found that the animal substance is only
y|o part of the whole ; the vast bidk of the creature's body being
composed of sea water.

The disk is amber-colored with a rosin-colored centre marking
the stomach-space. There are sixteen notches at regular intervals
around the edge of the disk, and eight of these notches are occupied
by sense organs which contain granular concretions.

On the lower surface of the disk one finds the central mouth
surrounded by veil-like lips, and eight clusters of tentacles.

The eggs are caught in the veil-like folds of the lips and set
free as little pear-shaped larva which swim rapidly through the
water by means of their cilia. Soon, however, each larva settles down
upon the bottom and develops into a polyp having a terminal mouth
surrounded by tentacles. After feeding and growing for some
months the polyp begins to display constrictions at regular inter-
vals, and soon it splits up into a series of disks, each one of which is
set free and becomes a jellyfish.

SEA-SHORE LIFE

The Milky Disk, (Aurelia flavidula, Fig. 9J, is common north
of Cape Cod to the Arctic Ocean, but is not very abundant along
our coast. The disk is about one foot in diameter, is flatter than
a hemisphere and is slightly milky in color, while the four horse-
shoe-shaped reproductive organs near the centre are yellowish-white
or pink. The mouth is at the centre of the concave side of the
disk and is surrounded by four long frilled lips. Sixteen sti'aight
and sixteen pitchfork-shaped vessels extend outward from the

central stomach to the
edge of the disk. The
little pear-shaped lar-
vae are cast out in im-
mense numbers, and
( >. ^^^- ^'^^ after swimming about

i- ^ ^\ vv^-C^N ^°^' ^ ^^""^ '^''lys, they set-

^ .'^ \ \ "\~\^ \ . ■ tie upon the bottom

and develop a ring of
tentacles in a zone
around the mouth.
Finally the body of the
larva splits up into a
series of disks, each
one of which swims off
and develops into a
full-grown jellyfish.

The Speckled Jel-
lyfisli, fDactylometra
qiiinquecirra, Fig. 10 J,
is found in a few local-
ities, as at Tiverton,
Rhode Island, in great
abundance, during the
latter half of the sum
mer, and it occurs in
the upper reaches of
many other Ijays and estuaries from Florida to Cape Cod.

The disk becomes about one and one-half feet in diameter,
and its margin bears thirty-two notches and, when fully grown,

Fig. 10 ; SPECKLED JELLYFISH.

JELLYFISHES AND HYDROIDS 35

forty tentacles. The veil-like lips around the moutli form long,
graceful curtains often two and one-half feet in length. This me-
dusa can be at once distinguished by its amber-pink coloration, and
the sixteen spoke-like areas of reddish specks upon the convex side
of the disk. There are eight sense organs, each containing a
spherical mass of concretions. These are situated at regular inter-
vals within notches at the disk-margin.

The Milky Cross, (Staurophora laciniataj, is abundant along
the Atlantic coast north of Cape Cod, during the summer months,
and is occasionally seen along our coast in spring The appear-
ance of a milky-colored cross is produced by the large cruciform
mouth bordered with veil-like frills containing the reproductive
organs. It is from four to eight inches in diameter. There are
numerous little eye spots at the base of the tentacles, upon the bell
margin.

The Thimble-Jelly, (Melicertum campanula J. This little Arctic
jellyfish resembles a large thimble of clear jelly-like substance
with eight, yellow, radial canals extending from the stomach at the
centre of the concave side of the thimble to the edges forming, so
to speak, the spokes of a wheel. The edge of the bell is provided
with numerous tentacles. It is exceedingly abundant until mid-
summer, north of Cape Cod, but is
found on our coast only in the spring.

( Gonionemus murhachii, Fig. 11).
This interesting little jellyfish is famil-
iar to all who study at the Woods Iloll
Laboratory, for it is very abundant in
the Eel Pond at that place. The bell
is transparent, somewhat flatter than a
hemisphere, and when full grown it
becomes about one inch in diameter.

About eighty long, flexible tenta-
cles arise from the side of the bell near ^^- ''^ f "yj!*^- fZ'7T"

tnurbac/ni, Woods Holl, Mass.

the rim. Each of these bears a sucker-
like disk upon its upper side near its extremity, and the extreme tip
of the tentacle bends sharply at right angles. The tentacles are cov-
ered with wart-like clusters of minute thread-cells each containing a
coiled tube which can be turned inside out as we might do with the

SEA-SHORE LIFE

finger of a glove. If the tentacles come in contact with a small
fish or crustacean these little stinging- threads are instantly dis-
charged, and on account of their minute size they penetrate the
skin of the prey carrying with them a poison, believed to he formic
acid, which quickly paralyzes the victim. Scattered between the
tentacles there are numerous little balancing organs, which may

also serve to detect
vibrations in the
water. These organs
consist of minute
capsules each con-
taining a hard spher-
ical concretion. The
stomach of the me-
dusa is a four-sided
tube at the centre
of the concavity of
the bell.

Four canals ra-
diate outward from
this stomach and ex-
tend 90° apart, to a
vessel which encir-
cles the bell margin
at the bases of the
tentacles. The geni-
tal organs are devel-
oped upon these I'a-
dial canals. They
are ribbon-like, but each ribbon is longer than the portion of the
canal upon which it is developed, and its edge is therefore folded
sinuously from side to side.

The stomach, genital organs and tentacles are rich brown in
color with green spots, while the other parts of the jellyfish are
transparent and gelatinous.

According to Perkins, the jellyfish is very active upon cloudy
days, when it swims rapidly upward to the surface, opening and
closing its umbrella-like bell with powerful pulsations. Upon

fig. 12; PASSION-FLOWER HYDROID (From Life).
Aniiis(iuam, Mass.

JELLYFISHES AND HYDROIDS

reaching the surface, however, it becomes suddenly quiet and then
slowly sinks down with tentacles widely distended. Frequently it
clings to seaweed and other objects by means of the suckers upon
its tentacles.

This jellyfish lays its eggs during the summer at about one
hour after sun-set. The little larvae are pear-shaped and swim with
the blunt end forward. Soon they settle with the blunt end down-
ward and four tentacles soon develop at the narrow end, surround-
ing the mouth. Other little pear-shaped larvae often l)ud out from
the sides of the original one, are set free, and after swimming about
for a time settle down as did their parents. It is probable that the
larva finally changes directly into a little jellyfish. This medusa was
first discovered in the Eel Pond at Woods Roll, by Louis Murbach,
1895. Yerkes and Aver, in "American Journal of Physiology,"
Vol. IX, 1903, have made a careful study of the reactions of the
medusa to light.

The Passion-Flower Hydroid, fTliaiiniocnidia spectabilis. Fig.
12), often grows upon sunken ropes, or within shaded tide-pools.
It consists in a dense
cluster of delicate am- j
ber-gray stems, each
terminating in an en-

larged, pink -colored
polyp-mouth sur-
rounded by two rows
of tentacles. The stems
are each about three
inches long, and the
beautiful flower-like
heads give the creature
the superficial appear-
ance of a plant; but it
is an animal, and the
tentacles serve to cap-
ture its prey of small
Crustacea and etc., which it stings to death by its tliread-cells.
The Eel-Grass Hydroid, (PenmD-ia tiarella. Fig. 13 ), grows
abundantly upon eel grass or in tide-pools. It is from three to six

^i^. is; EEL-GRASS HYDROID, Long Island Sound.

SEA-SHORE LIFE

inches liigli, and resembles a little dark-colored tree with branches
arranged alternately on either side of the main stem. Each branch
gives rise to a series of side branches on its npper side and they
each and all terminate in white or pink flower-like heads. These
polyp-heads bear the mouths, and each is surrounded by two rows
of tentacles which wave through the water intent upon the capture
of the small marine animals upon which the Pennaria feeds. Jelly-
fishes grow out from the sides of the polyp-heads, and within these
the eggs develop At times the eggs are cast out before the jelly-
fishes are set free, but often the jellyfish escapes from the

hydroid and swims aboiit, car-
rying its eggs with it. The
eggs then develop into little
pear-shaped larvae Avhich swim
rapidly through the water but
soon settle down and change
into tree-like hydroids which
in turn develop another genera-
tion of jelly fishes.

In spring and early sum-
mer large, pale colored, stocks
of Pennaria are found upon
rock weed, piles, etc.; but about
the middle of August small,
highly colored stocks, with pink
heads, are found in great abund-
ance upon eel grass. This was
observed by Professor Hargitt
in "The American Naturalist,"
Vol. XXXIV, p. 390.

The Sea Plume, (Ohelia cum-
iitissuralis, Fig. 14), is common
upon the wooden posts of wharves
or attached to stones or sea-weed.
The main stems are fully six
inches long, and they give rise to spirally arranged branches which
run nearly at right angles to the stem. The creature thus resem-

Fig. 14; SEA-PLUarE (Obeha), Growing
Upon Seaweed (Fucus). From Life.

JELLYFISHES AND HYDROIDS 39

bles a delicate seaweed or plume, but is in reality an animal. Each
branch gives rise to a number of little flower-like polyp-mouths
surrounded by tentacles which capture prey.

Jellyfishes develop within capsules at the angles of the stems.
These jellyfishes are set free and swim about for a long time,
finally growing to be about one-quarter of an inch in diameter.
Then they cast out their eggs which develop into plume-like hy-
droids which in turn give rise to jellyfishes.

The Rainbow Jelly, fMnemiopsis leidyij, is one of the comb-
jellies or CtejiophorcB. It is exceedingly abundant along our coast
during the summer, but is so transparent that it would escape
observation were it not for the brilliant flashes of prismatic red
and green that play over its eight rows of comb-like flappers.
When full grown the creature is about four inches long, and
the outline of the body is pear-shaped with broad wings on the
sides. At the narrow end there is a sense organ consisting of a
capsule filled with a ball-like mass of concretions. This sense
organ enables the creature to maintain its proper position in the
water. The central stomach gives rise to a complex system of
ramifying tubes which extend through the Avings and along under
the eight rows of combs. This creature is so delicately formed that
it can not be lifted from the water without serious injury, yet it
readily captures small fish and crustacea upon which it feeds. At
night it gives out a brilliant green phosphorescence when disturbed.

One often finds a long, pink, worm-like parasite imbedded
within the gelatinous substance of the Rainbow Jelly. This is not
a worm, however, but is a sea anemone, Edwanlsia leidiji.

SEA ANEMONES AND CORALS

4 SEA ANEMONE is a barrel-shaped animal. The bottom of
^^ the barrel is fastened to some rock or other firm anchorage,
while the upper end bears a slit-like mouth which is encircled by
a fringe of tentacles. The mouth leads into a simple tube-like
throat, which is bound to the inner sides of the barrel by means of
radiating partitions.

The throat-tube is, however, only about one-half as long as the
height of the barrel, so that the radial partitions in the lower half

Fig. is; EYED-CORAL, From Life. Nassau, Haliamas.
Orbicella acropora.

of the barrel cavity do not meet at the centre, but leave an open
space which is the "stomach" of the anemone. Sea anemones are
among the most attractive of marine animals, beautiful both in

SEA ANEMONES AND CORALS 41

form and color. They vary in size from that of a pin's head to
several feet across, and they live at all depths and in a great variety
of situations.

A. coral polyp is only a sea anemone which deposits a plate of
lime salts at the base of its barrel-like body and between the

Fig. i6; Star-Coral Showiug Liviug Polyps. From a Specimen in the Xew York Aquarium.

radial partitions of the stomach cavity. These lime salts form
a stony "skeleton" or substance which we commonly call "coral."

It is well to remember that the coral animals are not "insects"
but are merely sea anemones which form stony 'skeletons."

Although sea anemones and coral polyps resemble beautiful
flowers when fully expanded, they quickly contract into a mere
dome-shaped mass when disturbed. In this way the coral polyps
are protected by withdrawing into their stony cup-shaped bases.

SEA-SHORE LIFE

Sea anemones are found in all oceans, but the stony corals are
practically confined to tropical and sub-tropical regions and will

not usually live in water which
is colder than C)fi° F. In the trop-
ical Atlantic and Pacific thousands
of coral islands called atolls have
been gradually built up by the con-

"-•»•:

■ iT*** ••

'.'■•'''. ■i.'.^Q

■y:r-fw

-^^

■^^

Fig.

jj; Stony Skeleton of Star-Coral.

Long

; Island Sound.

stant growth of coral polyps, and
every grain of sand on the Baha-
mas, Bermudas, or Florida Keys
was once part of the skeleton of a
coral polyp or belonged to some
animal or plant which lived among
the coral reefs.

The Star-Coral, (Astrangia
dance, Figs. 16, 17 J. This stony
coral extends farther into the tem-
perate zone than any other species, being found from the Carolinas
to Cape Cod. It is abundant in Long Island Sound where it
forms encrusting masses of
star-like cups upon stones, dead
shells, etc.

The coral polyps are glassy
white, and translucent, and
have each from eighteen to
twenty-four long, tapering ten-
tacles Avhich end in a Avliite
knob and are speckled over
with white warts. These are
the stinging organs which en-
able the coral to capture its
prey of small marine animals.
When fully expanded the pol-
yps are about one-eighth of an
inch wide and three-eighths
high, but when disturbed they
suddenly contract so as to become practically invisible. The colony
starts with a single polyp but soon others bud out from its base,

Ftg. iS ; FLESHY CORAL.
Woods Holl, Mass.

SEA ANEMONES AND CORALS 43

and the cluster increases by further budding from the bases of the
older polyps until it may be several inches in diameter.

The Fleshy Coral, ( Aleyoneum carneum, Fig. 18 J, is found from
the eastern end of Long Island to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It is

Ftg. 19; BROWN SEA-ANEMONE. Expanded. From Life.

rarely seen in shallow water but is common upon rocks at depths
greater than 2() feet. When first brought up from the bottom it
appears as an ugly, tough gelatinous mass covered witli dull
yellowish-pink finger-shaped processes. If placed in water, how-
ever, the whole mass soon appears studded with beautiful star-
shaped polyps, which expand so as to give the appearance of a
stump covered with delicate pink flowers.

Each of these polyps has a terminal mouth surrounded by
eight tentacles, the sides of which are bordered with rays giving
a feathery appearance. The whole colony of polyps develops
through constant budding from the sides and bases of the older
parts of the colony.

Alcyonaria or fleshy corals are extremely abundant in the
tropical Pacific where they often cover the reefs for acres in extent
with a tough, leathery -looking carpet studded with eight-rayed

SEA-SHORE LIFE

polyps. Others form liemisplierical heads hearing beautiful star-
like polyps each having eight feathery tentacles, while still others
form the sea whips and sea fans so characteristic of an Atlantic
reef. In the sea fans, however, the polyps secrete a horny axis
which forms the internal framework of the fan and gives a tough
support for the fleshy parts which cover its surface. Nothing is
more strangely beautiful than these coral reefs where the rich pur-
ple sea fans and the chocolate sea whips wave gracefully to the
surges in the crystal depths, while brilliant fishes glistening in
green, blue, purple and yellow, glide in and out among the shad-
ows of the coral caverns.

The precious coral of the Mediterranean is allied to the sea
whips. Its polyps are brilliant white, and have each eight feathered
tentacles ; while the internal axis of the colony is red and stony.

The Brown Sea Anemone, (Metridium inargination, Figs. 19,
20), is our common sea anemone, which extends from New Jersey
to Labrador. It is abundant in tide pools, and upon the posts
and rock work of wharves in Long Island Sound, but it attains
a much larger size and more brilliant color north of Cape Cod.

Fig. 20. 15ROWN SEA-ANEMONE, Contiacted. Sliowiag the white

thieatl-like tihimeiibs called acontia which are extruded

as a means of defense.

Although usually brown in Long Island Sound, individuals of
a pure white, delicate salmon-pink, or olive, are common at Newport

SEA ANEMONES AND CORALS

and farther north. Large specimens are about three inches wide
and four high. When expanded the body is cylindrical with a
dense fringe of tapering tentacles surrounding the slit-like mouth.
The tentacles are covered with minute hair-shaped organs, or cilia,
which wave outward so as to create a current from the base toward
the tip of the tentacle, and they are also armed with thread cells
that sting the small creatures upon which the anemone feeds.

These sea anemones develop from eggs, but they also slowly
divide ; an originally single anemone sometimes splitting longitu-
dinally until two are produced. In addition ilrs. M. L. Hammatt dis-
covered that little anemones are often budded out from the base of
large ones.

The body of the anemone contains powerful muscles, and when
the animal is disturbed these contract so that the tentacles are rolled
inward and hidden away, while the body becomes a mere dome-like

Fig. 21, ■ AVHITE-ARMED ANEMONE. Fiom Life.
Specimens in tlie New York Aquarium.

mass. Long, white, thread-like filaments are also extruded through
pores in the sides of the body. These filaments (Fig. 20), are called
acontia, and bear great numbers of stinging thread-cells.

The White -Armed Anemone, ( Sagartia lencolena, Fig. 21 J, is
common off the Long Island coast, and extends from the Carolinas
to Cape Cod. It is slender, the body being somewdiat more than
two inches long, while the tentacles are about one inch in length.

46 SEA-SHORE LIFE

It lives in dark situations on the under sides of stones, or upon the
shaded piles of wharv^es below low tide level. Sometimes, how-
ever, it is found almost buried in gravel or coarse sand. The body

Fig. 22; SAND-ANEMONE, Long Island Sound.

is of a delicate amber-brown, and is semi-translucent while the
long tapering tentacles are white or translucent-brown in color.
This species thrives well within a salt water aquarium.

The Passion-Flower Anemone, (Coudylactis yassiflora), is found
in the West Indies and Bermudas, where it is abundant upon
broken rocky bottoms. It attains a large size, often being more
than a foot in diameter and six inches in height. It is a very
beautiful anemone. The body is vermillion, while the tentacles are
rich turquoise-green Avith purple tips.

The Sand Anemone, f Halcampa producta, Fig. 22), is common
from South Carolina to Cape Cod in sandy or muddy beaches, the
elongate worm-like body being buried quite out of sight with only
the tentacles exposed.

It is three or four inches long and about one-half of an inch
in diameter, but when disturbed it may contract so as to be not
more than two iuches in length. There are about twenty short, blunt
tentacles and twenty longitudinal rows of whitish warts along the

SEA ANEMONES AND CORALS 47

sides of the body. The color is dull yellowish gray, and altogether
it is not an attractive object.

The Orange-streaked Anemone, ( SagaHia lucicej, is now the
most abimdant species in rocky tide-pools of Long Island Sound.

It appears to have been introduced upon oyster shells from
the south, for previous to 1892 it was unknown along our coast.
In that year it was found by iliss L. L. Verrill, near New Haven,
and it has gradually spread northward, reaching Salem, ]\Iassa-
chusetts, in 1901 ; beyond which place it appears not to exist.

It is only about one-quarter of an inch wide and three-eightlis
high, aad there are about forty-eight slender tapering tentacles.
The body of the anemone is olive green or brown, usually with
twelve fine longitudinal orange, or lemon yellow, streaks; while the
tentacles are light brown, almost white.

The best description of this anemone is that of Mrs. Gertrude
C. Davenport in the "Mark Anniversary Volume," p. 137-14-4. She
discovered that the anemone often splits into two, and the halves
soon separate, and grow to their original size. Fragments may
also be separated from the base, and then regenerate into new
individuals.

The Crimson Anemone, f Tealia crassicornis J , is of moderate
size, being about two inches high and one and one-half in diame-
ter. It has about 160 blunt tentacles, and the body is covered with
tubercles. It is found in tide-pools, and upon rocky bottoms
north of Cape Cod, and may be recognized by its rich cherry-red
or crimson color, although some specimens are mottled with red
and bluish-green. A drawing of this species is given in Agassiz's
"Seaside Studies," p. 13, under the name of Bhodactinia davisii.

The Parasitic Anemone, ( Edwardsia leidyij. Sea anemones
live in almost every conceivable situation upon rocky shores, in
muddy or sandy beaches, or upon shells which are being carried
about by hermit crabs, while others float over the ocean, or swim
freely about. Some are even parasitic, and among these Edwardsia
leidiii is most remarkable. It lives Avithin the transparent Rain-
bow Jelly (Mncmiopsis leidi/i. See page 39^*, and its long, dull
pink, threadlike form caused it to be mistaken for a worm.

It is about one and one-half inches long and only about one-
sixteenth of an inch in diameter, and there are sixteen blunt

SEA-SHORE LIFE

tentacles. Its nearest relatives are slender little sea anemones with
eight lozigitudinal farrows on the body and sixteen tentacles.
They live in rocky tide-pools.

The Cake- Anemone, fStoicliactis lielianthus, Fig. 23 J, is com-
mon in the West Indies and Bermudas, where it lives in shallow
water under rocks or in crevices. It resembles a " pancake " from

Fig. 23; CAKE-ANEMONE. Toitugas, Florida.

three to five inches in diameter, the oval mouth being in the centre,
and numerous short blunt tentacles covering the upper surface.
This anemone adheres to rocks by means of its sucker-like base,
but it can slowly move from place to place. It is usually olive-
yellow, often mottled with green or olive-brown.

STARFISHES
SEA-URCHINS AND SEA-CUCUMBERS

^^TARFISHES, sea urchins, sea lilies and sea cucumbers are

called Ecliinoderms. In the form of their bodies and ar-
rangement of their organs they usually display five ra3^s, and are
therefore known as "radiates." For example, most starfishes have
five equally developed arms, 72° apart, recalling the rays of a
conA-entional star. In the Ecliinoderms the skin usually contains a
skeleton composed of calcareous plates of definite shapes, all hinged
together in an orderly manner, so as to make a veritable armor
which gives rigidity to the body, and protects the soft organs of
the interior. In the living starfish one will see hundreds of little
tubular feet which arise from the grooves on the lower side of the
arms. When the starfish is tui-ned over upon its back these feet
stretch out to a remarkable length and wave about, seeking to
fasten upon something in order to right the animal. It is then
we may see that each of these feet is a hollow tube ending in a
cup-shaped sucker.

Similar tube-feet will be seen in five double lines along the
sides of the sea urchins. The mouth of the starfish is at the centre
of the lower surface. On the upper side, and a little away from
the centre between two arms, one will see a spongy-looking area.
This is called the madreporic plate, and is the sieve-like entrance
to the water-tubes of the starfish which extend down the arms and
give rise to little Ijladder-like vessels one above each tube-foot.
The contractions of these little bladders cause the tube-feet to
elongate by pressing water out into their cavities.

The upper surfaces of most of the starfishes are covered with
spines, but these are much better develoj^ed in the sea urchins
where, in addition to spines, we find calcareous pincers mounted
ujDon rods, which are used to remove any injurious foreign sul)-
stance that may fall upon the body of the urchin.

The sea cucumbers, or Holothuria, are worm-like in appearance,
but are nevertheless closely related to starfishes and sea urchins.

SEA-SHORE LIFE

They have no spines and their skeleton is often reduced to minute
anchor-shaped spicules within the skin. The mouth is at one end
of the worm-shaped body, and is surrounded by feathered or
branching tentacles. In some species there are five double rows

Fig. 24; Variations of tlie COMMON STARFISH.
From Long Island Sound.

of tube-feet down the sides of the body, but in others these are
absent. When disturbed sea cucumbers have the curious habit of
casting out their viscera, and afterwards regenerating them. They
are sluggish creatures, and either live within the sand or under
rocks or crawl slowly over the bottom, feeding upon minute organ-
isms that are contained in the sand or mud which they swallow.

Sea urchins or Echini may be compared to starfishes Avithout
arms. They are usually provided with a skeleton made for the
most part of six-sided plates fused or rigidly joined together.
They have five sharp-edged teeth with which they gnaw off minute

STARFISHES, URCHINS AND SEA-CUCUMBERS 51

seaweeds from the rocks. Some species can even gnaw away the
rock itself, and in many parts of the world we find that the sea
urchins have literally honey-combed the rocks; indeed we often
find a sea urchin living in a cavity whose opening is too small to
allow of the animal's escape. The common sea urchin of Europe
is sold in the markets during the season when it is full of eggs.

The sea lilies or Crinoidea are now among the rarest and most
graceful of inarine animals. It is probable that all other sorts of
Echinoderms are descended from ancestors resembling the sea
lilies, for in long past ages they were far more abundant than any
other Echinoderms, and even in the age of the chalk they lived in
countless numbers in shallow water along our shores, their flower-
like bodies mounted upon long delicate stems that formed veritable
forests beneath the sea. The sea lily is not a plant, however, but
may be compared to a starfish mounted xipon a long stem which
arises from the middle of its back and anchors it to the bottom of
the sea. The mouth is turned upward, and is surrounded by
branching arms which sweep gracefully to and fro in search
of prey.

The Echinoderms live only in salt water, but they are found
at all depths and in all oceans, from the Tropics to the Poles. The
vast majority crawl over the bottom, but at least one holothurian"'^
swims through the water, and was at first mistaken for a jellyfish.
Most of them cast their eggs out into the water, and the larvse
develop bands of waving cilia, which enable them to swim about
for a considerable time. Suddenly the body of the Echinoderm
begins to develop Avithin the larva, and most of the old larval
body is absorbed or cast off.

The Common Starfish, (Figs. 24, 25). There are two well
marked varieties of the common starfish ; one called Asterias forhesii
extends along the coast from the Gidf of Mexico to Massachusetts
Bay but is rare north of Cape Cod. It is found from low tide level
to a depth of 120 feet, and may be recognized by its somewhat
blunt-tipped arms, to^^gh, spiny skin, and the bright orange madre-
poric plate.

In the North it is replaced by another form called Asterias vid-

'^' Pelagoihu) la tiatat}ix, Jleuioirs Museum Comparative Zoology at Harvard, Vol. XVIf, No.
3, 1894, Plate XIX.

SEA-SHORE LIFE

gm^is which is found from North Carolina to Labrador, bnt is com-
mon only north of Cape Cod. In this starfish the arms are more
pointed than in .4. forhesii, the skin is not so rigid, and the madre-
poric plate is of the same color as back of the animal, which may be

Fig . 25 ; Left : HORSESHOE CEAB. Ri^ht: COMMON STARFISH.
Bel07i<: (JREEN SEA-URCHIN.

purple, yellow, brown or beautiful shades of pink or red. It ranges
from low tide level to a depth of 1200 feet. Many naturalists con-
sider these two forms to be identical, but the writer found that in
Asterias forhesii from Long Island Sound, 78 individuals in 10,000
had more or less than five arms, whereas in A. vulgaris from Mas-
sachusetts Bay only 23 in 10,000 had more or less than five arms.
It seems, therefore, that the southern form is more than three times
as variable as the northern.

There is a minute red eye-spot at the tip of each arm of the
starfish. Hundreds of sucker-like tube-feet arise from a deep
groove that extends down the mid ventral side of each arm, and
between two of the arms on the upper side of the disk one may see
a bright colored area called the madreporic plate. Its situation
marks the sieve-like entrance to the water tubes of the starfish.

STARFISHES, URCHINS AND SEA-CUCUMBERS 53

The mouth is at the centre of the lower side of the disk and is sur-
rounded on all sides by the tube-feet.

In summer and autumn the starfishes are found on rocky-
places in shallow water, but in winter they live at greater depths.

Starfishes feed upon almost any kind of mollusk, but will also
devour barnacles, worms, and occasionally sea urchins or even the
young of their own species. It is estimated that in 1888 starfishes
destroyed $631,500 worth of oysters on the beds of Connecticut
alone. Their mode of feeding is interesting. The starfish folds
its arms over the clam or oyster, and hundreds of the sucker-like
tube-feet fasten themselves to the valves of the shell, so that finally
the mollusk yields to the constant pull of the starfish, and the shell
gapes open. Then the starfish turns its stomach inside out and
engulfs the mollusk. It has been found by expei'iment that a large
starfish can exert a steady pull of over two and one-half pounds and
that this is sufficient in time to open the valves of a clam or mussel.

The eggs of the starfish are discharged into the water in great-
est abundance during the last three weeks of June, although tliey
are also to be found throughout the summer, and occasionally even
in winter. These eggs soon develop into little transparent larva? cov-
ered with tortuous lines of waving cilia, and provided with long
flexible tubercles. They swim slowly about near the surface, and
feed upon minute organisms until they grow to be about one-eighth
of an inch long. Then the iipper and lower halves of the star be-
gin to develop xipon both sides of the stomach, and in a few hours
all of the anterior part of the larva and the tul)ercles are absorbed,
and only a minute star, about as large as a pin's head, is seen upon
the bottom of the ocean.

Myriads of these little stars settle upon sea weeds and eel grass,
and begin at once to devour the young clams which also begin life
in the same places. Professor Mead found that one of these little
stars devoured over 50 young clams in 6 days. The starfishes grow
rapidly, and in one year they may have arms 2^ inches long and be
ready to spawn.

It is certain that the menhaden devour myriads of starfish larvte
as they swim through the water.

Normal starfishes have five arms, but occasionally one is found

SEA-SHORE LIFE

having more or less than tliis number. Some of these variations
are the result of accident, but others are congenital.

Starfishes regenerate readily, and although a single detached
arm will not regenerate a new star, it will do so if it be torn off to-

.^^-EMfioii 's^m£::y^

Fig. 26; BLOOD-STAR. Massachusetts Bay, Tide Pools.

gether with about one- fifth of the central disk. Also the central
disk if deprived of all of the arms will soon regenerate them.
When an arm is injured it is iisually cast off voluntarily very near
to the central disk, and regeneration begins at this point. Regen-
eration from the injured tip of an arm is very rare.

By means of their hiuidreds of sucker feet starfishes are
enabled to glide rapidly over the softest mud. They can also
climb readily and if turned over will quickly right themselves.
When the water is perfectly flat and calm they can even move
sucker-side uppermost along the surface of the water.

The Blood Starfish, fCribrella sanguinolenta, Fig. 26 J, is smaller
than the common starfish, and its arms are rarely more than an inch
long. It is pink or reddish and the arms are almost smooth, be-
ing covered with numerous little warts. The leathery skin is quite
soft and flexible, and the arms are rounded in cross sections, and
taper to a point.

The eggs are not cast out into the water, but are held around
the mouth of the mother until they have developed into little star-
fishes. This creature is abundant witliin rocky tide-pools from the
eastern end of Long Island to the Arctic Ocean.

STARFISHES, URCHINS AND SEA-CUCUMBERS 55

The Mud Starfish, fCtenodiscus crisiMtus, Fig. 27), is abund-
ant upon muddy bottoms at depths greater than 100 feet from Cape
Cod to the Arctic Ocean. The upper surface is covered with a
flexible skin beset with niimerous regularly arranged granulations.
The sides of the arms are straight and vertical, giving the starfish
the appearance of a five-rayed cake cut out of a thick sheet of
dough.

At the centre of the upper surface of the disk there is a pro-
jecting papilla. In this connection it is interesting to observe that
starfishes are probably descended from forms which were attached
to the bottom by means of a stalk that extended downward from
the middle of the aboral side, and it is possible that the little blunt

Fig. 27; ML'D-STAR. From a Deptli of 120 Feet Off Cape Ann, Mass.

papilla seen in the mud star is the remnant of the base of such a
stalk that has long since ceased to serve as an organ of attachment.

The feet of this starfish have no terminal suckers, and serve
merely to push the animal along as it glides over the mud. The
arms are sharp-pointed although short and blunt, and the creature
is about two and three-quarters of an inch in diamter.

The starfish is dull ochre-yellow or slightly greenish in hue.
It swallows large quantities of mud, and probably subsists upon
minute organisms contained therein.

The Giant Starfish, (Pentaceros reticulatus, Fig. 28 J, is found
on sandy bottoms, usually at depths greater than ten feet, off the
Florida coast and West Indies. It is the largest of our starfishes,

SEA-SHORE LIFE

the disk being about five inches thick, and one and one-half
feet in diameter. The five arms are short and blxmt, and the up-
per surface is covered with short, blunt, rounded spines, Avith

a network of ridges
between them. The
color is brown, or
brownish-vellow.

The Green Ser-
pent Starfish, (Ophi-
uva hrcvispinaj ,
is a West Indian
and Tropical Atlan-
tic species, but it
is common in some
parts of Long Isl-
and Sound where
the bottom is cov-
ered with eel grass,
as in Great Peconic
Bay. It is dark, rich
olive green in color,
and the central disk
is five-sided and
about one-half of an inch Avide. The long, slender arms arise
sharply from each of the five angles of the central disk. These
arms are each about two and one-half inches long, and are covered
with scales which give rise to short spines along the sides. In
life they thrash about in a snake-Jike manner.

The Serpent Stars are the most active of all starfishes, for
their long, flexible arms and tube feet enable them to clamber
rapidly over the ground. Although no eyes are known to exist
they readily perceive the approach of an enemy, and will dart into
the nearest rocky crevice with remarkable rapidity. If one of the
arms be seized, it is immediately thrown off leaving the remaining
parts of the Star to escape.

The Brittle Starfish, fOphiopholis aculeata, Fig. 29 J, is readily
distinguished by its mottled coloration in light gray and purplish
brown, no two individuals being alike in pattern. The disk is

M?. 28; GIANT STARFISH.
From Sandy Bottom at Tortiigas, Florida.

STARFISHES, URCHINS AND SEA-CUCUMBERS 57

granulated with, minute spines, and the arms are provided with

rows of stout, blunt spines, usually six in a row There are ten

egg-pouches on the lower side of the disk near the points of origin

of the five arms.

The starfish is rare

in shallow water

but is abundant at

a depth of about

100 feet, where it

crawls about among

the rocky crevices.

It extends from the

coast of New Jersey

to the Arctic Ocean,

and is common on

the northern coasts

of Europe, and the

Pacific coast of

North America. It

is figured by Lyman

under the name

Ophiopliolis hellis.

The Basket
Starfish, (Astrophy-
ton cKjas^Hizii, yi is a
species of serpent
star whicli is inter-
esting in that the arms branch in a forked manner. The central
disk is five-sided, and the arms arise from the five angles. At each
angle we see two main branches of the arms, then each of these forks
giving four branches, and these soon fork again, giving eight.
This process is repeated, until, according to Governor John Win-
throp of Connecticut, who first described this creature in 1670, the
arms give rise to 81920 terminal branches.

The basket star walks ujDon the tips of these branches, with its
body elevated above the ground, and a perfect trellis work of arms
sloping outward, so that the creature is about one and one-half feet
in diameter. It is dull yellow and brown in color, and is covered

Fig. 2g; BRITTLE STARS.
From Life. Tide Pools; Annisquain, Mass.

SEA-SHORE LIFE

. ..iHs*ai«e«**«»-»- -

Fig. 30; BASKET STARFISH. Tortugas, Florida.

with a tough skin. The basket star feeds upon unlucky fishes
which may seek a retreat within the branches of the trellis, only to

be seized and devoured.
It is found along our
North Atlantic coast
from the eastern end of
Long Island north-
ward, and although
rare in shallow water,
it is abundant at depths
of twenty feet or more,
being especially com-
mon off Provincetown
or in Eastport Harbor.
The Purple Sea Ur-
chin, (Arhaeia pune-
tidata, Fig. ^iy), a dark
brown or brownish-purple sea urchin, is quite common on broken
rocky bottoms along our coast from Mexico to Cape Cod. The body
is globular and hejnispherical,
and about one and three-quar-
ters inches in diameter. It is
protected by a skeleton formed
Avithin the skin, and composed
for the most part of six-sided
calcareous plates arranged in
an orderly manner. The body
is covered with conical spines
of various lengths up to about
three-quarters of an inch. These
are found chiefly in five broad
radii regularly spaced around
the body, while between these
spiny areas one sees five nar-
row spaces almost devoid of

spines. There are five double rows of tube feet provided with ter-
minal suckers. These arise in the spiny areas and may stretch
out so as to become longer than the spines themselves. At the

Fig. ,,v/ PURPLE SEA URCHIN.
Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island Sound.

STARFISHES, URCHINS AND SEA-CUCUMBERS 59

centre of the under side is the mouth with its five white teeth pro-
vided with powerful muscles Avhich enable them to grind the vege-
table food upon which the sea urchin lives. Tlie mouth leads into
a coiled intestine which opens by a pore at the summit of the
body. Around this opening in the areas devoid of spines, are five
little pores which are the openings of the reproductive system.
In summer the eggs are cast out through these pores, and float
in the water where they rapidly develop into little translucent
larvfe with reddish spots, and provided with eight long processes
which are rendered straight and rigid by calcareous rods. After
swimming about, and devouring small creatures for several weeks
the sea urchin suddenly develops in the posterior end of the larva,
most of the body of which is absorbed and withers away in a few
hours, leaving, upon the bottom, a minute globular sea urchin not
larger than a pin's head.

The Green Sea Urchin, fSirongylocentrotus di'ohadticnsis, Fig.
25 J, is found in the deep waters of Long Island Sound but north of
Cape Cod it occurs in shallow tide-pools, and on the Maine coast it
literally covers the rocks. It extends into the Arctic Ocean, and is
found on the north' Pacific coast. It may be at once recognized by
its resemblance to a greenish chestnut bur. The body is flatter
than a hemisphere, about two inches in diameter and densely cov-
ered with sharp pointed spines not more than three-eighths of an
inch long. In some individuals these spines are tipped with dull
violet. In addition to the spines, there are also a large number of
little pincers mounted upon rod-like bases. These are used for the
removal, or retention, of refuse material Avhicli may fall upon the
sea urcliin. The five double rows of long, slender, tube-feet allow
the animal to cling to the rocks over which it slowly glides in search
of the algfe, and small organisms i;pon which it feeds. It often
covers itself witli bits of seaweed and other fragments.

The Stinging Urchin, (Diadema setosumj, is abundant along
the Florida coast and in the West Indies, where it is often seen in
clusters upon the sandy bottoms. These urchins are velvety black,
about four inches in diameter, and are covered with sharp i:)ointed
black spines, some of which are fully four inches long. These
spines wave rapidly about upon the approach of an enemy, and if
the urchin be seized, they penetrate the skin of the attacking per-
son and break off, inflicting a most painful sting.

SEA-SHORE LIFE

Fi^. 32: SAND-DOI-LAi;.

When young the spines are banded with dark gray and white,
but they become dark brown or dark purple in the adult urchin.
The body of the urchin is sprinkled over with glistening blue eyes

each one of which is provided
with a number of prismatic
lenses, a retina and nerves.

The Sand D(^llar, (EcU-
luii'dcliniuspcn-iiia. Fig. 32 J, is
found in swarms upon sandy
bottoms from New Jersey
northward to the Arctic Ocean
and the Pacific. It is flat with
a rounded edge, about three
inches in diameter, and dense-
ly covered with short brown
spines. The mouth is at the
centre of the under side,
while the vent is at the mar-
gin. Radiating outward from the centre of the upper side one
will see the slightly raised pattern of a five-rayed star, the borders of
which are outlined by numerous little pores, through which gill-like
organs project upward. The sand dollar is enabled to glide over
the bottom through the action of its numeroixs sucker-like feet.
When turned over on its back it is unable to right itself, however,
and thousands are cast ashore by every great storm. An indelible
ink is prepared from sand dollars by pounding them up in water.
The Brittle Sea- Cucumber, fSynapta inhcprens, Fig. 33 J, lives
in sand tubes within sandy or muddy beaches from the Carolinas to
Cape Cod, and is also found on the coasts of Europe. At first sight
it resembles a worm, but it is an Echinoderm closely related to the
starfishes and sea urchins. Its body is liighl}' contractile, but when
extended is about one-eighth of an inch in diameter and more than
a foot long The creature is translucent with five white lines
marking the places where muscle bands extend down the body. The
skin is covered with little white dots that indicate the places occupied
by minute calcareous anchors which enable the animal to obtain a
hold when moving. The mouth is at the front end of the long worm-
like body and is surrounded by twelve feathered tentacles. The coiled

STARFISHES, URCHINS AND SEA-CUCUMBERS Gl

intestine extends the entire length of the body, and may be seen
through the translucent skin, especially when it is distended by the
sand which the creature constantly swallows in order to obtain the
minute organisms upon which it feeds.

The Synapta lives within a tube made of fine sand particles
aglutinated with adhesive slime. This tube is made up of a series
of rings. The Sijmipta selects little particles of sand with its ten-
tacles, and then fastens them together so as to
form a ring around the mouth. The ring is then
forced down the sides of the body by muscular • ,.

contraction, and thus a tube is finally made with-
in which the creature lives.

Our Sjpiapta has the curious habit of break-
ing itself into pieces by muscular constriction,
and if placed in unfavorable conditions, it soon
breaks up into numerous short lengths.

A good figure of it is given in Agassiz's
" Seaside Studies," under the name of Synapta
tenuis.

The Red Sea-Cucumber, (Synapta roseola),
closely resembles Synapta inliaren^ but can be
at once distinguished by its reddish color, and by
the fact that it lives under stones or in gravelly
beaches, never in sand or mud.

The Crimson Sea-Cucumber, fCtivieria sqiia-
mata J, is found along the New England coast
north of Cape Cod. It is of a brilliant red color,
and the sides and back are shingled with round-edged scales. The
lower side of the body is free of scales, but is provided with three
rows of tube-feet bearing suckers.

There are ten tentacles which branch profusely and resemble
beautiful red trees almost as long as the body. The creature becomes
about eight inches long. The brilliant red larvae, about as large as
a pin's head, occur in myriads in the ocean during the sirring and
earlv summer months.

Fig. 33; HIMTTLK
SEA CUCLMBEK

THE WORMS

rr^HE worms include a large number of creatures which differ

greatly one from another, both in form and in habits of life.
They are found in almost every imaginable situation, although
generally dependent upon moisture for their development. Many
sorts of worms are parasites, and no animal is wholly free from
their attacks.

Although repulsive at first sight, worms are really among the
most interesting of all animals, for a careful study of their develop-
ment and structure shows that crustaceans, insects and mollusks are
probably descended from worm-like ancestors.

The flatworms or Platodes are among the simplest of all worms.
The free-swimming flatworms are common upon seaweed-covered
rocks, or upon dead shells. They are generally small creatures
more or less leaf-shaped with the front end of the body bluntly
rounded. They crawl or swim with a wave-like motion. The sucker-
like mouth is upon the lower surface, never at the extreme front of
the creature; and the intestine ends blindly, so that undigested
particles of food are cast out through the mouth. Numerous little
eye-spots and sensory hairs are often seen on the upper surface of
the worm, and the nervous system is well develojDed. The brain is
near the front end, and gives rise to two main nerve branches which
extend down the body near the lower surface and are joined at regu-
lar intei'vals by cross fibres, making a ladder-like arrangement.
The flatworms often lay their eggs in cocoons or capsules, each cap-
sule containing a considerable number of eggs, only a few of which
develop ; the remainder being devoured by the successful larvae.

The tapeworms and flukes are related to the flatworms, and are
parasitic within many animals. The development of these para-
sites is interesting, for example the tapeworm produces eggs which
develop into little embryos, each with four or six hooks and suckers,
and which are then cast out and die, unless accidentally swallowed
by some other animal. In this event, however, the little tapeworm
gets rid of its egg-shell, and bores its way through the wall

THE WORMS 63

of the stomach of the animal, and lives somewhere within its body.
The worm, however, does not usually grow to any great size or
develop any segments, but remains little more than a "head" with
hooks and suckers. If, however, the animal within which it is
living be devoured by another, the little head is set free and attaches
itself to the walls of the stomach of the new host, and then it grows
to an enormous length, forming hundreds of segments which
develop thousands of eggs, and are finally cast out one after another
through the alimentary canal of the host.

The highest of the worms are called ^innelids, for their bodies
are ringed or divided by constrictions into a number of segments.
The head segment contains the mouth and is often provided Avith
feelers and eyes. Then follow a large number of body segments
quite similar each to each. These often bear flapper-like side
appendages which are both gills and feet. The posterior segment
usually has one or more pairs of feelers. The intestine runs straight
through the body from one end to the other, and the throat which
is often armed with teeth, can be turned inside out. There is a well
developed In-ain in the head segment and a chain of nerve fibres
extends down the lower side of the body, with a knot-like mass
of nerve cells in each segment. The eggs of many Annelids
are cast out into the water Avhere they divide into a number of
cells, and soon develop into little free-swimming larvre which
are apt to be tack-shaped, the body being elongated, and the head
broad and flat. There is a ring of waving cilia around the edge of
the broad head of the larva, and another at its posterior end. The
mouth is at the narrow edge of the head of the tack, and the intes-
tine bends at right angles and runs entirely through the body, open-
ing at the posterior end. There is usually a sense organ or brain
at the centre of the head of the tack, and often we find sensory bris-
tles or hairs at this place. Larvae of this sort are so common that a
special name, trochopliora, is given to them. Soon the flapper-like
legs develop along the sides, and the body becomes segmented and
gradually changes into the form of the adult worm. But in addi-
tion to this development from eggs many worms increase in even
more interesting ways. For example, in some forms called Syllidce,
we often find that eyes and feelers begin to develop at regular
intervals upon certain segments of the body of the worm, and then

64 SEA-SHORE LIFE

the original worm breaks up into a number of individuals each pro-
vided with eyes and feelers.

In the Palolo worms f Eunice J of the tropical Atlantic and Pacific
oceans, the eggs are contained only in the posterior end of the worm ;
and this end is cast off early in the morning of the day of the last
quarter of the moon, at the Tortugas, Florida, in July ; and in the Pa-
cific in November. This cast off end then swims upon the surface
for about an hour, and finally contracts so as to squeeze out all of
the eggs after which it sinks to the bottom and dies, leaving the
eggs to develop, and the forward etid of the worm to regenerate a
new posterior part.

The Ribbon-Worm, (Meckelia ingens, Fig. 34J, is common in
muddy or sandy beaches from South Carolina to Cape Cod where it
lives buried beneath the ground near low water line. When fully
stretched large individuals are about ten feet long, ])ut when con-
tracted even tlie largest are not more than five feet in length. Com-
monly the worms are not more than three feet long and about three-
quarters of an inch wide, being flat and ribbon-like with bluntly
pointed ends, and of yellowish-white color. The body is slimy and
the skia is covered with minute cilia wliich wave constantly. These
however can be detected only with the microscope.

This worm is remarkably active and is an excellent burrower,
■forcing its way through the sand with considerable rapidity. It is
also a good swimmer, throwing its ribbon-like body into sinuous
waving lines as it moves through the water. When distiirbed it
rapidly shoots out a long tubular proboscis which arises from a pit
on the dorsal side of the head and is not a part of the throat. This
proboscis is sometimes thrown out so violently that it breaks off,
and then wriggles about very much as if it were a complete worm,
while another proboscis is soon regenerated. The proboscis is coa^-
ered with an adhesive slime, and serves in the capture of prey ; for
this worm feeds upon other worms which it devours entire. The
mouth is on the lower side of the head.

The development of the ribbon-worms or Nemerteans is interest-
ing. The larva is helmet-shaped with a broad head region, and
covered with cilia which enable it to swim rapidly. After a time
parts of the outer skin sink down in four pit-like depressions into
the body of the larva and these grow together around the intestine,

THE WORMS

and thus the little worm develops, as it were, within its own larva,
which shrivels and is cast off.

The Pink Rihbon-Worm, (Meckelia rosea), is snialle]' than .¥.
iiujeiis, never being more than ahont ten inches long and one-quar-
ter of an inch wide. It has a thread-like proboscis which can be

Fig. J7/ upper. 1UB150X-WOKM.
Loiver. OPAL-WORM.

shot out with remarkable rapidity, and is I'uUy ten inches long. This
worm is dull red or flesh colored, and lives in sand near low water
mark. The sand adheres tenaciously to the slime-covered body of
the worm.

The Sea Mouse, f Aphrodite aculeata, Fig. S5). This remarka-
ble worm is oval in shape, and about three inches long and one and
one-half wide. The skin is dull brown but the sides are covered
with numerous hair-like bristles, many of
which glisten with brilliant green, red and
yellow iridescence. The head bears a pair of
tapering feelers, and there are abont forty
pairs of legs provided with short, stiff, Ijrown-
colored bristles, Avhich extend outward at the
edges of the flat lower surface This worm
lives in mud below tide level, and is found
from Long Island northward, and is abundant
on the northern coasts of Europe.

The Clam Worms, (Nereis, Fig. 36 J, are
very common in muddy beaches wliere tliey
live between tide levels in burrows lined with
mucous. They are segmented, or ringed, each ring of tlie body
bearing a pair of flapper-like gill-feet. The head segment, however,
is more complex, for it bears ten feelers, two fleshy "palps," and

Fts:.

SEA-MOUSE.

6;5 SEA-SHORE LIFE

four black eyes. When disturbed the worm turns its throat inside
out displaying a jjair of sharp, horny jaws. The posterior segment
of the bod)' has no gill-feet but bears two long feelers.

There are three species of clam worms to be found on our coast.
The largest of these is Nereis virens which is even more abundant
northward and extends to the northern coasts of Europe. It becomes

Fig. j6; CLAM WORM From Life. Long Island Sound.

about one and one-half feet in length, and the body is olive brown
or olive blue with a beautiful pearly iridescence. The gills, which
are attached to the upper sides of the feet, are leaf-shaped, and are
green on the front and salmon red on the middle and hinder parts
of the body. The teeth are black.

Nereis liinhata is also common. It may be recognized by its
horny, yellow colored teeth and small size, being not more than six
inches long.

Nereis pelagica is more abundant on the coast of New England
north of Cape Cod. The body is widest in the middle, while in the
other species of Nereis it is widest very near the head end. On
calm nights, during the summer months, these worms leave their
bai'rows, swim about near the surface, and cast their eggs out into
the water, where they develop into little pear-shaped larva? which
swim rapidly through the water by means of waving cilia. The
development has been thoroughly studied by E. B. Wilson in "The
American Journal of jMorphology," 1892, Vol. VI.

Nereis is a carnivorous worm and greedily devours other
worms, and various marine animals. It is, however, a favorite food
Avith fishes and makes an excellent bait. It is also preyed upon by
the ribbon worm.

THE WORMS

The Opal- Worm, ( Lumhrieonereis opaJiiui, Fig. 34 J, is abund-
ant in muddy Leaches from New Jersey northward. The body is
ringed, and each ring bears a pair of bristled feet. It is about

J^'^- .?/,■ HEI) THREAD WOKM. Long Island Sound.

eighteen inches long and one-eighth of an inch wide in the
middle, the ends gradually tapering. The head is simple and
])ointed, without feelers. The Avorm is of a rich bronze color
with a brilliant play of opalescent colors over its surface.

The Red Thread, f Lumhrieonereis tenuis, Fig. 37 J. A shovel

J^ig, jS; FOUR-JAA\ED WORM. From Life. Long Island Sound.

thrust into almost any of our muddy beaches will show that the
mud is infested Avith slender, thread-like worms of deep dull-red

SEA-SHORE LIFE

color, and about one foot in length. Tiiey are so fragile that it is
extremely diliicult to dig them out unbroken.

The Four-Jawed Worm, (Euglycera americana, Fi<j. 38), is a
stout, active worm about one foot in length and one-quarter of an

Pig, jp; FRINGED WORM. Long Island Sound.

inch wide. The side appendages are small, and function more as
gills than as feet. The worm resembles a reddish, iridescent earth-
worm with a thick body, sharply pointed at both ends. When
disturbed it everts its throat, shooting out a balloon-shaped pro-
boscis which is armed with black teeth situated at the four
corners of a square. It is a remarkably active worm, and is pro-
vided with powerful muscles so that it burrows through the sand
very rapidly, and is common in our beaches between tide limits.
The Fringed Worm, (Cirratulus grandis, Fig. 39), is common
in burrows in sandy or gravelly beaches at low Avater mark. The
body is dull brownish-yellow, tapering to a point at both ends,
but a large number of long, red or orange colored threads arise

from the sides, being especially
numeroiis near the head. These
are the gills and, when expanded,
they are ofteii as long as the body
itself, and are thrust out into the
water above the worm, which
lies safely hidden within its tube-
like burrow. When the gills are
broken off they squirm about and
remain alive for several days.

The Tufted Worm, ( AmyU-
Lrite oniata, Fig. 40), is found in
muddy beaches near low tide lev-
el, where it constructs a U-shaped
tube of mud particles aglutinated together with mucous. The
mud around the opening of the tube is heaped up into a crater-like

Fig. ^o. TTFTEU WORM.

THE WORMS

rim with the opening in the centre. The body of the worm is dull
flesh coloi-ed with two rows of bristles on the sides of each segment.
It is not more than eight inches long and one-half an inch Avide
near the head, but it tapers gradually from this point, the posterior
end being still quite blunt. The head end is provided with three
pairs of blood-red, tree-like gills, and a large number of pale flesh-
colored tentacles which are constantly expanding and contracting,
and by means of which the worm captures the minute creatures
upon which it feeds. These tentacles are also used to gather parti-
cles of sand or mud with which to construct the tube. The Ijody
of the worm remains within the tube with the head near the open
end, while the tentacles spread out over the ground in all direc-
tions. It is aljimdant from Cape Cod to New Jersey.

The Blood-Spot, (Polycivrus eximius, Fig. 41), is not more than
four inches long, and lives in our sandy 1)eaches immediately below
low water mark. Tlie
forward half of the
body is blood-red and
thick, while the hind-
er part is dull flesh-
colored ami slender.
Each segment of the
forward half of the
body is provided with
a pair of branched
gills, while the sur-
face of tlie hinder part
is smooth and has no
gills. The most
marked characteristic
of this worm, howev-
er, is the great cluster
of l)lood-red tentacles
surrounding the
mouth. These are con-
stantly expanding and contracting as the blood flows through them.

The Shell Worm, (Serpula dianthus, Fig. 42 J, is common along
our coast. It secretes a crooked, stony, white tube upon the sur-

ri£^. /// BLOOD -SPOT WORM.

SEA-SHORE LIFE

Fig. 42 ; Dead Scallop Shell covered

with tubes of the Shell Worm.

Long Island Sound.

face of rocks, dead shells, etc. Often a number of these calcareons
worm -tubes are seen clnstered together, as in our illustration.
When undisturbed the worm protrudes its beautiful feathered

gills, which resemble a little passion-
flower projecting from the mouth of
the tube. These gills are variously
colored in different individuals, some
being purplish-brown banded with
Avliite and yellow, while others are
yellowish-green, orange or lemon-
yellow. At the least disturbance
such as a shock, or a shadow, the
gills are instantly withdrawn into the
stony tube, and the opening stopped
by a horny disk called the " opercu-
lum." These worms are rarely more
than three inches long, and one-
eighth of an inch wide. The body tapers gradually to the posterior
end. In place of the gill-feet of the active worms, we find only a
row of little bristles down each side, for these worms are unable to
leave their tubes, and the legs which their remote ancestors pos-
sessed have degenerated. There are no jaws, but the worm feeds
upon minute organisms which are washed into its mouth by the
movements of its feathery gills.

The Sea Flower, fSpirohmnelnis triconiisj, is a beautiful ani-
mal, related to our shell-worm, Init is larger and secretes its tube
upon the surface of large coral heads, so that the tube becomes cov-
ered by the coral, leaving the opening still at the surface. This
opening is protected by a sharp spine, and is closed by the opercu-
lum of the wo]-m when it withdraws its gills. When expanded
these gills resemble a beautiful pink or purple passion-flower,
about three-quarters of an inch wide. If a shadow^ passes over the
"flower," however, the gills are instantly withdrawn into the tube.
The worm is abundant off the Florida coast, West Indies and
Bahamas.

The Acorn Worm, f Balanoglossus koiralevskiij. This remark-
able worm-shaped creature is found in shallow Avater, below low
tide level, from Massachusetts Bay to the Carolinas. It lives

THE WORMS 71

within sandy beaches in tubular burrows lined with mucous, and
the situation of the burrow is always marked by a heap of coiled
string-like masses of sand cast out at its mouth. The creature is
about five inches long and so delicate that its own weight is suffi-
cient to break it into pieces, so that it must be dug and washed out
of the sand with great care. The front end of the body is, how-
ever, quite tough and muscular, and is elongate and acorn-like in
shape; although it is often expanded and contracted in life. Back
of this acorn there is a thickened, collar-like region, and then comes
the long, tapering, worm-shaped body. The acorn is usually yeliow
or (lull (U-ange, the collar darker orange, and the body greenish-
brown or brownish-purple, often mottled Avitli dull white spots.
The mouth is at the lower front edge of the collar, and the creature
f>'eds upon the minute organisms contained in the large quantities
of sand which it swallows. The intestine extends straight through
the body. The sides of the intestine in the forward part of the
body are pierced, however, Ijy numerous gill clefts which open to
the outside in a series of pores along both sides of the middle of the
back. Now, gill slits are peculiar to the vertebrates, being found
either in embryonic or adult life in every known vertebrate from
the lowest fishes up to man. Indeed, many naturalists have sup-
posed that Balanoglossiis might be a survivor of the ancient race
which long ago gave rise to the vertebrates. On the other hand the
larva of Balanoglos>iii.^ is free-swimming, and bears such a remarkable
resemblance to that of a starfish, or Echinoderni, that no one sus-
pected it to be anything else until it was reared and observed to
change into a Balanoglossiis. It is possible, therefore, that Balano-
glossiis is descended remotely from ancient forms which gave rise
to both the annelid worms and the Echinoderms. The discussion
of this interesting subject would, however, take us too far afield,
and the reader is referred to the table of references for further
accounts of this species.

THE BRACHIOPODS

IN long past ages these creatures were far more abundant than
mollusks, and their shells are among the commonest fossils of the
oldest rocks. Now, however, they are nearly all extinct, and are
usually found only at considerable depths, or along tropical shores.
At first sight one would mistake these animals for clams or mus-
sels, but they are more closely related to worms than to mollusks.
In Brachiopods the two halves of each shell on either side of a
middle line are similar, wdiereas in clams and mussels the two
halves of each shell are not alike in shape.

A still greater difference, which has l^een discovered through
careful study, is that the shells of the Brachiopods grow on the

back and lower side of
the animal and the
head faces the gape of
the shell, whereas in
the mollusks the shells
grow on the right and
left sides, and the
ventral side of the bod^^
faces the gape of the
shell. The mouth in
the Brachiopods is
flanked by two curi-
ously coiled and featJi-
ered arms which lie
witliin the cavity be-
tween the shells, and
are supported by skel-
etal rods attached to
the upper shell. These
serve as gills and also to capture the minute creatures upon which
the Brachiopod feeds. In Brachiopods the posterior end of the

bodv is sometimes stalk-like and projects backward either through

Fig 43; Parchment Shells growing upon a stone. From
a depth of I611 feet off (Gloucester Harbor, Mass.

THE BRACHIOPODS 78

an opening near the back of the lower shell, vr betAveen the shells.

In some forms this stalk is very small and serves merely to
attach the creatures to rocks, etc., while in others it is used in bur-
rowing through sandy beaches. The intestine curves around and
opens, if at all, on the right side near the mouth. There is a well
developed liver and one or two pairs of tubular kidneys, while the
heart lies above the stomach.

The Parchment Shell, (Tcrebralnlina septentrional is, Fig. 43 J,
is a Brachiopod, and is extremely abundant off the Xew England
coast, on rocky bottoms at depths between 100 and 500 feet, and it
is also found off the northern coasts of Europe. At first sight it
resembles a little bivalve with elongate, slightly heart-shaped
shells, of yellowish color, resembling old parchment The shells
are marked with faint radiating ridges, and the lower shell projects
backward beyond the apex of the upper. The Brachiopod is
attached to rocks, etc., by means of a stalk-like body which i:)rojects
backward through an opening near the narrow apex of the lower
shell. In life the shells move quite freely over each other and often
gape open, displaying the beautiful feathered "arms" or gills which
lie coiled within the cavity of the shells. This little creature is not
more than an inch long and three-quarters of an inch wide. The
eggs are laid in the water, and develop into minute free-swimming
larvae covered with moving cilia, and having a tuft of bristles at
the head end. The Ijod}^ is pear-shaped, with two constrictions.
Soon the creature cements itself to the bottom by the posterior end
of the body, and two folds which are to secrete the shells, one on
the back and the other on the lower side, grow upward and en-
close the bod v.

THE MOSS ANIMALS AND CORALLINES

Polyzoa or Bryozoa.

\ MOMENT'S glance at a bit of seaweed or the most casual in-

spection of the rocks below low tide level, will reveal the fact
they are often covered with delicate lace-like growths, or with more
or less highly colored incrustations, or small tree-like forms.

These are the moss animals or corallines. They live in col-
onies, and grow by budding, the entire colony having grown
from a single individual, and thus while the individual creatures
are themselves of microscopic size, the colony being composed of
liundreds or thousands may spread over a considerable area or con-
stitute a small tree-like, or moss-like, growth.

Each little animal of the colony occupies a separate stony or
horny capsule into which it may withdraw and even close the
opening with a lid, the aperture being still further protected by
spines around its edge.

The mouth is surrounded by tentacles that in many s])ecies
arise from a horseshoe-shaped or disk-like base. These tentacles
are always beset with hair-like bristles which h\ their movements
serve to set up currents, and thus to drive minute organisms into
the mouth.

The intestine is U-shaped and bends back so as to open on the
dorsal side near the mouth, while the principal nerve centre is situ-
ated between the mouth and the vent. In some of the forms there
is a single pair of kidney organs, the ducts of which open near the
mouth.

We see, therefore, that although these creatures often bear a
close superficial resemblance to hydroids they can at once be dis-
tinguished by their bristled tentacles and complete alimentary tract.
Indeed a careful study of their development and anatomy has shown
that they are closely related to the brachiopods and worms, and that
their present forms have been brought about by ages of sedentary
life. Being stationary they have had little need for sense organs.

THE MOSS AMIMALS AND CORALLINES

and accordingly these have degenerated, and even the internal
organs have become simplified. On the other hand, rei^roduction
by budding, and the development of a hard external skeleton have
been fostered and are now almost but not quite universal among
these creatures.

The eggs are often produced in large oval or flask-shaped cells
scattered at intervals over the colony. The little larvfe are free-
swimming, being provided with lines of waving cilia. After a time,
however, they settle down, fasten themselves to some suitable anch-
orasre, and then begin to increase bv buddinar.

The Moss-Animal, fBugula turvita, Fig. 44), is very abundant
upon piles of wharves and on rocks between Cape Hatteras and
Casco Bay, Maine. It grows between low water mark and a dejith
of 100 feet, and is so abundant that the roclss below low tide level
appear covered with its mossy-looking
tufts, which are often ten inches long and
branch profusely. The older brandies
near the base of the stem break off, how-
ever, leaving a dense tuft of branches near
the summit. The main stems are orange-
yellow while the terminal branches are yel-
lowish-white. Both steins and branches
are, however, usually over-run with min-
ute plant growths and so covered with bits
of silt as to be dull liiown in color. Ex-
amination with a magnifying lens will
reveal the little individual animals of the
colony, each in its own special sheath.

The sheaths being arranged alternately, or on opposite sides of the
stem The bristle-covered tentacles will be seen engaged in the
capture of minute organisms; while at intervals one will see curi-
ous bird's head shaped appendages, their mouths constantly open-
ing and shutting.

The Lace Coralline, f Membra ni pom pilosaj, forms delicate,
Avhite, lace-like incrustations over seaweeds, dead shells, etc., being
especially common upon kelp. It is very abundant from Long
Island Sound to the Arctic Ocean ; being also found on the north-
ern coasts of Europe.

Fi£^. 44; MOSS-ANIMAL.
Long Island Sound

SEA-SHORE LIFE

The Red Crust, ( Eseliarella variahiUsJ, forms a dull-red or
pinkish incrustation over rocks and dead shells, layer after layer
being formed imtil the rock becomes thickly coated with a mass

bearing a superficial resemblance to
coral.

It is common from South Caro-
lina to Massacliusetts Bay from Ioav
tide level to a depth of 150 feet, and
is especially abundant in shaded tide
pools.

The False Coral, (Diseosoma ni-
(lifa. Fig. 45), forms rough, nodular
masses of dull greenish-yellow color,
and is extremely abundant in Long
Island Sound where it is commonly
but erroneously called "coral." These nodular masses are a grad-
ual growth, and are due to layer after layer of the incrusting Poly-
zoa which always forms over a dead shell or some loose stone. It
is found only below^ low tide mark, and is most abundant in water
about thirty feet deep.

Fig. 4.s; FALSE CORAL. A coral-
line animal. Long Island Sound.

THE CRUSTACEANS

rpHESE are the crabs, lobsters, sand-fleas, barnacles and a host of

minute creatures of both salt and fresh water. They breathe by
means of plume-like gills which are usually attached to the bases
of the legs, and thus the vast majority of crustaceans li^e in water,
whereas insects which breathe through internal tubes called traehece
live on land. A further difference between crustaceans and insects
is that in the former the legs are l)ifurcated while in insects they are
simple and linear.

In crustaceans and insects the body is made up of distinct
segments separated by constrictions. This is also true of the higlier
worms but while the legs of crustaceans and insects are jointed,
those of worms are usually mere stump-like flappers. Moreover, in
worms the body is made up of segments which are similar each
to each, whereas in crustaceans and insects the body is composed of
dissimilar segments.

In insects we find three distinct regions called the head, thorax
and abdomen, and these are marked off one from another by sharp
constrictions. In crustaceans, however, we find that there is no
sharp line of demarkation between the head and thorax, and only the
al)domen is more or less sharply defined from the rest of the body.
In worms, crustaceans and insects the brain lies in the head above
the intestine, and two cords of nerve tissue extend downward from
the brain on both sides of the throat and connect the brain with
the main line of nerve fibres which extend in a doiible line down
the middle of the lower side of the animal.

Both crustaceans and insects are probably descended from
worm-like ancestors but while crustaceans have been developed
mainly for life in the water, insects have become more complex and
live mainly on land.

The body covering of a crustacean is tough, and rendered still
harder by deposits of carbonate of lime, so that the animal is en-
closed, so to speak, within its own skeleton. At the joints, hoAvever,
the skin is flexible, allowing a certain freedom of movement. This

SEA-SHORE LIFE

hard skin-armor of the body affords excellent attachment for the
muscles, and it is well known that in proportion to their size in-
sects and crustaceans are the strongest of all animals. It has even
been calculated that if a inan possessed muscles as strong in propor-
tion as those of a flea he could readily leap over St. Paul's Cathedral.

Fig. 46; YOUNG ROCK-CRAB. From life, natural size. Showing tlie rapid enlargement

that tooli place after the shell was uioiilted. The Crab had lost oueof its nippers,

but this was regenerated after the moult.

Being encased in a natural armor crustaceans can not grow at
a uniform rate, but enlarge suddenly at the periods when the shell
is shed. This occurs at fairly regular intervals, and the entire
shell is shed, even the coverings of the eyes and part of the lining
of the stomach being cast off. The creature is then soft and helpless,
and usually remains hidden in some safe retreat until the body has
expanded and the new shell hardened.

The appendages of crustaceans are of various sorts such as
feelers, mouth parts, claws, legs, egg-carrying organs, swimming and
breathing organs, and stalked eyes.

The Crustacea are divided into two sub-classes, the lowest
called the Entoniostvaea, the barnacles and water fleas, have a var-
iable number of body segments, and the appendages are usually
forked, and are apt to be quite similar each to each. The higher
sub-class called the Malacostraca includes the crabs, lobsters,
shrimps, and sand fleas. Their bodies consist of twenty segments;
five in the head, eight in the middle part of the body, and seven in
the abdomen; and their ajDpendages are apt to be dissimilar each
from each.

THE CRUSTACEANS

Fig:. ^7; ROCK-CRAQ. Cape Aim, Mass.
Above: Male showing narrow abdomen.
Below: Female with broad abdomen that serves to cover and protect the eggs.

80 SEA-SHORE LIFE

The esTss of criistaceaas are often carried about attached to the
abdominal appendages of the female. In the lower forms the egg
usually develops into a more or less oval-shaped emljr^'o called a
uaupliHs, which has a single eye and three pairs of appendages.
The first pair is simple and becomes the front feelers of the adult,
while the other two pairs are forked, and become the second pair of
feelers and the mandibles. In the higher crustaceans the eggs often
contain so mvicli yolk that the embryo is not set free until its devel-
opment has gone farther than the nauplius stage. Good general
descriptions of our Crustacea are given in Arnold's "Sea Beach at
Ebb-Tide;" Stebbing's "Crustacea," in The International Scientific
Series, 1893; and Volume II of "The Riverside Natural History,"
edited by Kingsley.

THE BARNACLES

The older naturalists believed that barnacles were mollusks, but
a study of their development showed that they are crustaceans re-
lated to the water fleas.

The egg of the barnacle is set free in the water and develops
into a minute larva Avith a triangular shield over the back, a single
eye immediately above the brain, a mouth, intestine and three pairs
of appendages. The larva then moults a number of times, acquir-
ing a pair of stalked eyes, and a pair of shells hinged along the back
and projecting over the sides of the body. The first pair of append-
ages have now changed into organs of attachment which enable
the little creature to fasten itself head-on to some rock or other sviit-
able anchorage where it is destined to pass the remainder of its life.

A considerable change then comes over the creature. It re-
mains without food while it develops a shell with hinged lids which
may close or open the aperture. The barnacle has been described
as a crustacean which is fastened by its head, lies on its back, and
kicks its food into its mouth. If one watches a barnacle one will
see how the feathery jointed legs are thrust out at regular intervals,
and wave gracefully through the water to aerate the blood, and to
set up currents which drive small creatures into the mouth of the
barnacle.

Most of the barnacles are hermaphrodites, but in some genera

THE CRUSTACEANS

the males are minute, degenerate creatures without shells, mouth or
intestines, and live within tlie shell of the female.

Fig. /S; Kock covered with Kock Barnacles. Cape Ann, Mass.

The Kock Barnacle, fBalanus halanoides, F'kj. 48 J, is found
along the Atlantic shores of Europe and America, from the Caro-

linas northward. It lives only between

tide levels, where it remains uncovered
for a considerable period each half day,
and is so abundant as to whiten the rocks.
Individuals are crowded so closely to-
gether as to become distorted and elon-
gated in shape. When the tide is out
the barnacles remain closed up, but as
soon as the water reaches them the lids
of the shells open, and the delicate curl-
ing feet are thrust out at regular inter-
vals, sweeping food into the hungry
mouths of the barnacles. At the least shock or jar the barnacles
close their lids with a snap and the waving motion ceases.

Ftg 4<^; Deep-water Barnacle

growing upon a stone. From

life. Cape Ann, Slass.

SEA-SHORE LIFE

Balanus hamei'i, Fig. 49^, is a large rough-looking, solitary
barnacle that grows upon rocks below low-tide level off the coast

of New England north of Cape
Cod.

The Whale Barnacle, fCoro-
nida diadevia, Fig. 50 J, is at-
tached to the skin of whales,
the skin being drawn up into
the shell of the barnacle so as
to enable it to adhere firmly.
The shell of this barnacle is fully
an inch and a half wide and an
inch high. In cross section it
is hexagonal with six longitudi-
nal ribs, each made up of four
F,-g. 3o; WHALE BARNACLE. ^^. ^^^^ ridges. In bamacles that

groAv upon moving animals, the feathery feet are merely thrast out,
and not waved about as in the rock barnacles, which must create
currents in order to
capture their food.

The Stalked Bar-
nacles, (Fig. 51). These
are often called "goose
barnacles," for the
naturalists of the sev-
enteenth century be-
lieved that geese
hatched from them.
They are usually found
attached to floating
objects, such as the
gulf weed, drifting
logs, pumice or buoys.

The fleshy stalk
by which the barnacle
is attached is the head
end of the creature,
and the feathery, curling legs are seen to protrude now and again
through a cleft in the side of the shell. There is a minute eye

Fig. 51; STALKED BAHNACLES, Lepas Aiialifera.
From a buoy at Toitngas, Florida.

THE CRUSTACEANS 88

attached to the side of the stomach. The shell is laterally com-
pressed, and is made up of a number of calcareous pieces hinged

Fig. 52; AMEKR'AN LOBSTKK. Cape Ann, Mass.

together. There are two common species of stalked barnacles in
our parts of the Atlantic. One is called Lepas fascicularis, and is
found floating in the Gulf Stream attached to logs and gulf weed.
It is small, the whole animal, including the stalk, being usually not
more than an inch in length. The shell is milky white, while the
stalk and legs are rich brown. This species is often cast ashore
upon our coast late in the summer.

Lepan anatifem, Fiq. 51, is a larger and stouter species,
fully two inches long. It is abundant upon buoys off the Florida
coast, or upon ship's bottoms which have been in warm seas. It
occurs in the tropical parts of all oceans.

The American 'Lohstev, fHoniarus anicficcuuis, Fig. 32). We
are all familiar with the general appearance of our lobster, but its
habits are not so well known. It ranges from Xorth Carolina to
southern Labrador, and is now most abundant off the Maine coast.
Years ago lobsters over 20 pounds in weight were not uncommon,
but such monsters are now very rare. A specimen 30 pounds in
weight and 42 inches long was, however, captured off the isew
Jersey coast in March, 1897. Our lobster is exceedingly variable
in color, being usually dark green Avith red and blue mottlings ;

84 SEA-SHORE LIFE

but blue, red or cream-colored lobsters are sometimes seen. It is a
great burrower, digging holes with its claws fully two feet deep,
and then entering the burrow tail first. It feeds upon almost any
dead animal it may find and will readily captixre living fishes, or
other marine animals, including young lobsters. These are torn to
pieces in its large claws, and then still further ground up in the
"gastric mill" or gizzard-like teeth of the stomach. Cod and other
fishes destroy countless numbers of lobsters.

The eggs are usually laid in July or August, and adhere to the
abdominal appendages of the female, while the great tail "fm, " or
telson, is folded forward so as to cover them. In this condition they
are carried for about eleven months, so that they usually hatch
between May 15th and July 15th. A female eight inches long will
layabout 5,000 eggs, while one seventeen inches in length will pro-
duce fully 63,000. Individual lobsters do not spawn oftener than
once every two years.

The little lobsters are about one-third of an inch long, and as
transparent as glass, so that one may see their internal organs
clearly. They immediately rise to the surface, and their feathered
feet enable them to swim actively about. The claws are now very
small, and the whole creature is shrimp-like in appearance. The
little creatures swim at the surface for five or six weeks, devouring
a great variety of minute animals, and not hesitating to bite off the
legs of other young lobsters whom they may chance to meet. They
moult six times and then sink to the bottom, and crawl into shallow
water, where they remain hidden away under stones until autumn.
On the approach of cold weather all of the lobsters crawl out into
deep water, never going, however, to a depth much greater than 600
feet. They seem to prefer waters of a temperature of about 55° F.
Professor Bumpus has shown that lobsters wander over the bottom
to a considerable extent; one individual went twelve miles in
three days.

Our lobster fisheries are worth at least -$1,500,000 annually,
but unless wise laws are soon enforced for their protection the ruth-
less persecution to Avhich the lobsters have been subjected will prac-
tically exterminate them, in so far as commerce is concerned. No
lobster under 10| inches in length should be sold, and no female
carrying eggs should be killed. An excellent description of the

THE CRUSTACEANS

habits and life history of onr lobsters, together with beautiful
figures, are given by Francis H. Herrick in the "Bulletin of the

c^m

Fig. S3; SPINY LOBSTER. Tortugas, Florida.

United States Fish Commission," Vol. XV, 1805, and an estimate
of their wandering habits, and the extent to which they are subject
to destruction is given by Hermon C. Bumpus in the same publi-
cation. Vol. XIX, p. 225, 1899.

The vSpiny Lobster, fPanullrns argus. Fig. 53), is common in
the Bermudas, Florida and West Indies, where it lives in rocky
crevices in shallow water. It is highly esteemed in the market and
appears also to be greatly appreciated by any wandering shark
that can capture it It is often called the clawless lobster, for it
has only five pairs of long delicate walking feet, which lack claws.
The second pair of feelers is provided with sharp spines, and is
stouter and longer than in our northern lobster. There are two
curved sharp-pointed spines directed forward over the eyes, and
there are also numerous short ones over the back and sides, espe-
cially near the forward end of the body. The creature is strikingly
mottled with blue, rich yellow and brown, and there are a pair of

SEA-SHORE LIFE

yellow eye-like spots on the sides of the second and sixth abdomi-
nal rings. The broad tail flappers are richly banded with blue,
yellow and brown. This lobster is n timid creature, and relies upon
its sharp spines for protection. If the feelers or legs be seized they
are quickly throAvn ofP, and then regenerate, developing only after
the moidts, when the shell' is soft. It becomes fully two feet in

length, and is an active swimmer, being
enabled to dart rapidly backward by the
powerful strokes of its large tail flaj^pers.
A closely related species called fPanu-
lii'Hs intevru-ptus) is foiand on the coast of
California.

The Snapping Prawns, (Alpliens).
There are about twelve species of these
little lobster-like crustaceans which range
on our coast from Brazil to Virginia. The
largest are not more than one and three-
quarters of an inch long. One claw is
much larger than the other, and is pro-
vided with a sharp-edged blade which is
normally held out at right angles to the
claw. At tiie least alarm this blade is
closed with a sharp snap reminding one
of the explosion of a small torpedo. These
little creatures live in crevices of coral reefs, under shells or stones,
and fairly swarm in sponges; so that, when a sponge is lifted from
the water it crackles as if filled with minute firecrackers. The
report is so sharp that if one of these little prawns be placed in a
glass aquarium jar, one is deceived into supposing that the glass
has suddenly broken. They are inveterate fighters, and if two be
placed in the same aquarium one or the other will quickly be dis-
membered and devoured. The eggs are carried about attached to
the abdominal appendages of the female, and after hatching they
swim through the ocean, and moult a number of times before assum-
ing their final abode Avithin a sponge or under dead shells, etc.

Alpheus satdeyi is a small species, from five-eighths to one and
two-thirds inches long, which lives within sponges off the Florida
coast and Bahamas. The body is translucent brown or green, and
the upper surface of the great claw is vermilliou.

Fi,^. 54; SNAPPINCi-rUAWN

Froii] Coral Roi-ks at Tortu-

gas, Florida.

THE CRUSTACEANS 87

Alplieiis minus lives under dead shells, and is found on the
North Carolina coast. It is about one inch long, and is quite trans-
lucent and uniformly dull green with dots of brown pigment.

Alplieus heteroclielis ranges from the West Indies to North
Carolina. In the north it is translucent green with the tail flappers
tipped with blue and orange, while the upper surface of the great
claw is very dark brownish-olive and blue. In the Bahamas, how-
ever, it is more transparent, and dotted with brown pigment. On
the Carolina coast it lives in the beds of oyster shells, while in the
Bahamas it is found under loose stones.

CRAYFISHES

The Crayfishes, or Crawfishes, resemble small lobsters, to which
they are closely related, but they have never more than eighteen
pairs of gills, while the lobsters have twenty.

Our crayfishes are abundant in fresh-water streams, ponds and
rivers; none, hoAvever, are found iu the eastern parts of New
England.

The crayfishes east of the Rocky mountains have seventeen
pairs of gills and belong to the genus Camharus, while those of the
Pacific slope, west of the Sierra Nevadas, have eighteen paii's of
gills and are members of the genus Afitacns. Curiously enough
the European crayfishes also belong to the genus Aslacm^.

In Europe crayfishes are highly esteemed as food and are care-
fully cultivated, but in our country they are rarely eaten excepting
iu New York and New Orleans \\\ view of the increasing rarity
and high price of the lobster, it might now be found profitable to
cultivate our crayfishes for the market. Their habits are closely simi-
lar to those of the lobsters. Some species live under stones, others
prefer weedy streams while others burrow fully two feet into the
mud, and will even live in swampy soil where the water is only to
be found beneath the surface. Some of the mud-burrowing species
construct chimney-like tubes above the entrance to the burrow,
while at the bottom of the burrow there is a flask-shaped cavity
filled with water. In common with the great majority of crusta-
ceans, crayfishes are natural scavengers, and will eat almost any
dead animal. They also capture living creatures, and will feed
sparingly upon water plants. It is probable that under proper

SEA-SHORE LIFE

feeding they could be rendered more palatable for market than
Avhen subsisting upon their natural diet. At present the fishery is
worth not more than $2500 per annum.

An admirable description of the anatomy of the crayfish is
given by T. H. Huxley in "A Manual of the Anatomy of Inverte-

brated Animals," 1891, p. 264;
and also in the International
Scientific Series, "The Cray-
fish," 1880.

In the neighborhood of
New York w^e find three com-
mon species. In Cantharus
bartonii, Fig. DO, the body is
devoid of spines, but is pitted
with little depressions scat-
tered at fairly regular inter-
vals. It is very abundant in
running streams, and often
hides away under stones or
burrows into gravel. Large
specimens may be three inches
in length.

In Cainharushlandingii the
body and claws are besprinkled with tubercles. It is dull greenish-
brown, whitish beneath and lives in clear, running streams; often
resting near the surface upon water plants, with its head pointed
up stream. It grows to be over five inches in length.

Camhams affinis is the crayfish which is commonly sold in the
New York markets. It grows to be a little over four inches long,
and the upper surface is mottled with darker and lighter shades of
green, while the tips of the nipijers are orange. The under sur-
face is streaked with chestnut-brown It is common in the rocky
beds of rivers, and often rests under flat stones, but avoids dense
clusters of water plants.

SHRIMPS AND PRAWNS

These are generally smaller than the lobsters and crayfishes.
Moreover, they are swimming creatures while lobsters and cray-

Fig. ss; BROOK CRAYFISH. Orange
Mountains, New .Jersey.

THE CRUSTACEANS

Fig. 56; COMMON SHRIMP.

From Life. Cape .^nii,

Massachusetts.

fishes are crawling forms. The forward part of the body is en-
cased in a delicate shell called the carapace, while the abdomen is
segmented and bends sharply downward
instead of being in line with the carapace
as in the lobsters. This gives a broken-
backed appearance to the shrimps. The
feelers, eye-stalks, legs and feathery gills
are often remarkably long, and there are
a,pt to be little claws on several pairs of
legs. The last two segments of the abdo-
men bear flapper-like appendages which
constitute a powerful swimming organ.
While the shrimps are most abundant in
shallow water along the seacoast, there are
also many deep water forms, and a few live
in fresh water. They feed upon both ani-
mal and vegetable matter, and are them-
selves devoiired h\ hosts of fishes and other
marine animals. Shrimps possess a deli-
cate flavor which renders them a favorite food, and almost all
of the large species are sold in the markets. The shallow water
species are protectively colored, matching the bottom upon which
they live, but the deep sea forms are some of them rich scarlet, and
are especially distinguished by their very long, delicate antennae and
appendages, which probably serve as organs of touch in feeling
their way over the dark floor of the ocean.

Shrimps are knoAvn to science as the Scliizopoda. This name
is given on account of the forked appendages of the thorax, where
the inner branch of each appendage is a jointed leg, while the outer
fork is a feathered gill which projects freely into the water.

The Common Shrimp, f(h'angon vulgaris, Fig. 56), is found from
North Carolina to Labrador, and from Alaska to California. It is
especially abundant along the sandy shores of Chesapeake Bay and
the coast of New England, north of Cape Cod.

The shrimp may be recognized by its broad, flat, scale-like
expansions at the bases of the antenna?. It grows to be about two
inches long, and is protectively colored, matching the bottom upon
which it lives. It is extremely abundant in shalloAv water, but will

S)0

SEA-SHORE LIFE

descend to a depth of about 300 feet. When disturbed it conceals
itself quickly beneath the sand or mud, leaving only the eyes and

Fig. 57; SHRIMPS AND PRAWNS.

Above on right : (Ci angon Tnloaris)

Above on left: (Ciangon horfas)

In the center : (Pandalus antiulico} ms)

To the right and middle below: (Hippolyte sp)
To the left below : (Hippolyte pusiola)
To the left of center : ( Mysis stenolepis)

feelers exposed, and when the tide goes out it buries itself entirely.
It spawns during the summer, and the young swim rapidly over the
surface.

The Common Prawn, ( Palaemonetes vulgaris J, is especially
abundant in shallow brackish water, over muddy bottoms. It is
found from Massachusetts Bay to Florida, but is rare north of Cape
Cod. It becomes about one and one-half inches long and can be

THE CRUSTACEANS

Fig. SS; SOl'TIICRN OH KDIULK SlllilMl".

distinguished from Crangon vulgaris by tlie sharp-pointed, saw-
edged spine which projects forward between the eyes, its longer and
more delicate feelers
and slender legs. It
makes a good bait
for fishes, but is too
small to Ije vei'v val-
uable in the market.

The Edible
Shrimp, f Pen ce n s
setiferus, Fig. 58),
is the praAvn or
shrimp of the south-
ern markets, where
it is highly esteemed
as food. It becomes
at least six inches
in length and ranges
from Virginia to
Texas. It appears

in shallow bays and estuaries in the spring, and spawns during
the summer so that the young are commoidy found along shore
early in the autumn. Pence us setiferus may be recognized by its
long, saw-toothed spine Avhich extends above the back and projects
forward between the eyes. This ridge is bordered on both sides
by a deep groove which extends about half way down the back.
In another and rarer species called Penceus hrazilensis these grooves
extend down the entire length of the shell. This form extends
from New York to Brazil, and it often ascends rivers, living even in
fresh water. Both species are protectively colored being moi^e or
less translucent brown, or mottled. The feelers are about a foot
Icmg and there are small claws at the ends of the first three pairs
of feet. The southern shrimp fishery is worth more than ^100,000
annually.

The Coral Shrimp, {StenopushispidusJ. This beautiful shrimp
is white, with three bands of bright scarlet across the body and four
across each of the clawed arms. The body is about three inches
long and is covered with short, sharp spines. The feelers and clawed

SEA-SHORE LIFE

legs are slender and about five inches long. This shrimp ranges
from New York to Brazil, but is found also among the tropical islands

of the Pacific. It
lives among the cor-
als, the male and fe-
male swimming side
by side. The eggs
are of a delicate
green color, and are
carried about at-
tached to the abdo-
minal appendages
of the female. When
disturbed theshrimp
retreats within the
crevices of the corals.
The Feather-Footed Shrimp, (Mijsis sfenolepis, Fig. 57 J, is a
little translucent brown creature about one-half an inch long and
may be recognized by the feathery hairs on its legs and antennae,
large eyes, and spines on the sides of the body. It has no claws,
and the abdomen is "broken-backed," and somewhat longer than
the forward part of the body. It is most abundant on our coast in
winter in shallow muddy or grassy places, and often occurs in great
swarms.

HERMIT CRABS

Ftg^. 59; HERMIT CRAB. From Life. Showing tiie

borrowed sliell covered with sea weeds and Hydrac-

tinia. Cape Ann, Mass.

The Hermit Crabs, {PaguridceJ. In these animals the abdomen
is soft and covered only by a delicate skin, but the crab protects
it by inserting its abdomen within the cavity of some empty
shell which it drags about in all of its wanderings. This habit of
occupying shells has profoundly modified the structure of the body.
The abdominal appendages are reduced or wanting, and the sixth
pair have become hook-like, allowing the crab to anchor itself with-
in the shell. The abdomen is twisted so as to fit into the coils of
the shell, while in some species all of the legs on one side are shorter
than those of the other, thus giving the body a one-sided appear-
ance. The front legs and claws of the crab are covered with a hard
crust, and the eyes are mounted upon long stalks. When disturbed

THE CRUSTACEANS

Fig, 60; HEKMIT CRAB. From Life. Showing

the lioriowed shell covered with sea weeds

and Hydractinia. Cape Ann, Mass.

the crab instantly Avithdraws within its shell, completely closing
the opening with its claws, which are of the exact shape
required for the purpose.
As the crab grows it
must occupy larger and
larger shells. These are
apparently selected with con-
siderable care, but having
decided upon it the crab
finally darts into its new
abode with almost incredible
rapidity. In common with
other crustaceans these crabs
are scavengers. They are
also inveterate fighters, and
will conquer and devour one
another when opportunity
offers. A niimber of marine
animals grow upon the shells,
which are carried^bout by hermit crabs, thus obtaining the advan-
tages of a wandering life. Several species of hydroids. such as

Hjjdmctinia, cover the shells
with soft, pink-Avhite, velvety-
looking growths, while a num-
ber of sea anemones also live
upon the shells. One of these
called f Epizoanihus america-
nusj finally dissolves the shell,
forming a cavity within which
the crab continues to reside.
One of the most interest-
ing of the hermit crabs is the
Robber Crab (Birgus latro) of
the tropical Pacific Islands. It
is about two and a half feet
long, and the abdomen is soft
below but protected above by
hard plates. It lives within deep burroAvs, and only occasionally
visits the Avater. It crawls to the top of the cocoanut trees, and
tears open the nuts for the sake of the AA-hite "meat."

Fig. 61

HERMIT CRAB.
Cape Ann, Mass.

From Life.

SEA-SHORE LIFE

Our hermit crabs carry their eggs about attached to the halrS
of the lower side of the abdomen. The larvffi, which swim freely

Fig. 62; Hermit Oral) removed from
sliell. Cape Arm, Mass.

Fig. (5?,- Little Hermit Crab re-
moved from sliell. Cape Ann, Mass.

through the water, have a long spine fully twice as long as the body
itself, projecting straight forward above the eyes. A forked spine
also projects backward, so that the body of the crab appears as if
attached to a long, forked stick. After a few moults its form
changes, and it seeks the shelter of a small shell.

Three species of hermit crabs are found in shallow water along
our coast:

EupcKjnrns heruhdi'diis, Figs. 60-02, is common north of Cape
Cod, and is hairy and bright red in color. In Europe it is nsed
as bait by fishermen. It extends from shallow water to a depth
of at least 300 feet.

Eupagurus jjoUiccD-is ranges from Cape Cod to Florida, and is
abundant npon oyster beds and rocky bottoms of Long Island
Sound. It is pale red in color and the claws are grannlated rather
than hairy. It inhabits the largest shells, such as those of the
whelk, but appears not to be very fastidious, for the writer found
one occupying the bowl of an old clay pipe.

Eupagurus longicarpus, Fig. ('>3, is the most abundant and
smallest of our hermit crabs, and occurs in very shallow water.
It may be recognized by its dull yellowish-white legs streaked
with dull slatey-gray or blue.

The Sand Bug, fllippa talpuida, Fig. 64). This curious little
creature is related to the hermit crabs, but no one would suppose
this to be the case without careful study, for its appearance is

THE CRUSTACEANS

wholly different. It is oval in outline and about two and one-half
inches long. TJie back is arched and covered with a smooth, hard,

Ft,^s. 6f; SANDIiUO. Soutliern Shore of Long Ishuid.

yellowish-white shell. The abdomen is broad, and is folded for-
ward along the under side of the body. The principal feelers are
curiously feathered, and are often carried curled back against the
sides of the body. The eyes are minute ])lack specks at the ends
of a pair of long, slender stalks.

This creature lives in shallow Avater along sandy beaches. It
is very active, and swims and burrows with great rapidity. It is

Pig. 6s,- MANTIS SHRIMF. From a specimen in the Xew York Aciiiarium.

quite common along the hot, sandy shores of New Jersey and Long
Island, and makes a good bait for fishes.

The Mantis Shrimp, (Squilla empiisa, Fig. 05 J. This is often
called the Mantis shrimp on account of the more or less general
resemblance between its claws and those of the Praying Mantis.

96 SEA-SHORE LIFE

It becomes about ten inches in length, and lives in long, winding
barrows below low tide level. It extends from Florida to Cape
Cod. The carapace, or back shield, of the creature is short and soft,
while the abdomen is about three times as long as the carapace and
is broad, flat and segmented. The large pair of feelers end in
three branches, while at the base of each of the small feelers there
is a broad, flat scale having its edges fringed with hairs. The eye-
stalks are curiously bent, and project above the head. The last
joint of the great claw is bent forward over the second joint, and is
armed with six sharp spines which fit into corresponding sockets
at the bottom of a groove on the outer side of the second joint.
This constitutes a formidable weapon, and serves in the capture of
many sorts of marine animals upon which the Sqinlla feeds. There
are three pairs of Aveak walking legs which arise from the first
three segments of the abdomen. The leaf-like, hair-edged gills,
are seen attached to the lower surface of the abdominal segments.
Tlie posterior end of the body is blunt but beset with sharp spines,
while a pair of spiny jointed flippers arise from each side.

The Sqiiilla is an active creature, and when seized it makes
effective use of its sharp claws and tail spines, and will inflict a
painful wound. It is very attractively colored, for the body is pale
green, each segment being bordered posteriorly with dark green
and edged with bright yellow. The tail is tinged with rose color
and mottled with yellow, green and black. It is nocturnal, remain-
ing hidden away in its burrow during the day, and wandering about
at night in search of prey. The eggs are laid within the burrow
and a current of water is made to flow over them by fanning witli
the abdominal appendages. The transparent larva- are found, dur-
ing the summer, swimming at the surface. In the Mediterranean
and tropical Pacific various species of Sqiiilla are highly esteemed
as food. The species eaten in Tahiti is the most delicately flavored
crustacean the writer has ever partaken of, and it is possible tliat
our Squilla may also be palataljle. Certainly the large species of
the Florida coast and Bahamas bears a close resemblance to the
edible one of Samoa and Tahiti.

THE SAND FLEAS

These little crustaceans live upon our beaches, remaining dur-
ing the day in burrows under heaps of decaying sea weeds upon

THE CRUSTACEANS

Fig. 66; SAND FLEAS.

Above: (Talorchesiia lon-

gicornis).

Below: (Orchesiia agilis).
Long Island Sound.

which they feed. They are agile animals, leaping with remark-
able rapidity. In swimming they often progress on their sides
or upon their backs with feet vipward.
They are creatures chiefly of the shore
or of shallow water, although some closely
related species are found in the deep sea.
These minute animals are important scav-
engers, rapidly devouring all dead fishes
and other forms of decaying animal or
vegetable matter. They are themselves
devoured in immense numbers, often by
the identical species of fishes upon whose
dead bodies they themselves delight to
feast.

OrcJiestia agills, Fig. GO, is the common
olive green or brown Beach Flea of our coast.
It grows to be not more than half an inch
long, and lives during the daytime under
masses of sea weeds which have been
thrown up upon the beach. It constructs burrows in the sand under
the debris, and when disturljed it leaps with remarkable strength
and agility.

A still larger species is, (Talorchesiia longicornis Fig. 66J,
which is Avhite or gray in color, and about an inch long. It is also
a beach scavenger, and devours decayed sea weeds, feeding mainly
at niglit, and remaining hidden within its burrow during the day. It
appears never voluntarily to enter the water but is a good SAvimmer.

The Wood Borer, or Gribble, (Limnorea lignoritmj, is related
to the sow-bugs and pill-bugs and belongs to the sub-order of Crus-
tacea known as Isopoda. The gribble extends from New York to
Nova Scotia, and is also abundant on the northern coasts of Euroi^e.
It is not more than one-fifth of an inch long, and has a flattened
body with fourteen segments, and seven pairs of short legs. The
Ijack is covered with short hairs to which foreign substances are apt
to adhere. It is dull gray in color and resembles a pill-bug, the simi-
larity being still further enhanced by its habit of rolling up into a
ball when disturbed. It can also leap and swim rapidly. This crea-
ture is most destructive to all submerged timber, devouring every

98 SEA-SHORE LIFE

sort of wood excepting teak. It burrows tlirougli tlie softer parts of
the wood, completely lioney-coinbing the logs so that the knots and
hard parts project. Submerged timber decreases in diameter at the
rate of about an inch per year due to the ravages of this pest. Fortu-
nately, however, it does not occur in any considerable numbers much
below tide level. Submerged wood must be sheathed in copper or
frequently painted with creosote or poisonous substances, in order
to prevent its destruction.

CRABS

Brachyura.

The crabs are the highest of the Crnstacea. The head and
middle ])art of the body are covered with a shell which is usually
broader than long. The abdomen is small, and is folded forward,
fitting into a groove on the lower surface of the animal. In the
male the abdomen is narrow, and has only two pairs of append-
ages, while in the female it is much broader, and has four pairs of
appendages which serve to carry the eggs (see Fig. 47, Page 79).
The two pairs of feelers are small, and the eyes are mounted on
movable stalks which may usually be folded back into appropriate
sockets. The mouth appendages are broad and flat so as to
cover the opening of the mouth itself. The first pair of legs
have pincers, while the following four pairs lack pincers but are
formed for walking or clinging; the hindermost being often paddle-
shaped and used in swimming. The plumed gills are contained in
side chambers enclosed by the shell of the middle part of the body.
Being thus protected from drying, many of the crabs may live for
long periods of time on land, their gills remaining moist. Crabs
live in both salt and fresh water, and at all depths. Some are active
swimmers or crawlers while others are sedentar}^ or even parasitic.
They are scavengers, devouring almost any dead and decaying
animal or plant. Despite their imclean habits, many species are
highly esteemed as food, and crab fisheries are of great commer-
cial importance. When hatched from the egg, crabs are totally un-
like their adult form, and are said to be in the Zoceci stage. The
head and middle part of the body are covered with a delicate shell
which gives rise to four long, sharp spines. One of these is directed

THE CRUSTACEANS 99

forward and downAvard between the eyes, another rises from the
centre of the hack, and two others from the side near the middle of

Fig. 67; BLUE OR EDIBLE CRAB. Long Island Sound.

the body. The abdomen is long, and is not folded back under the
body but projects freely. The little creature has a pair of stalked
eyes and swims rapidly near the surface. It then moults a number
of times and changes into what is called the wegalops stage, in
Avhich it resembles a little crab excepting that the abdomen is
stretched straight out, and not bent forward under the body as in
full grown crabs.

The Blue or Edible Crab, fCallinectes mpidus, Fig. 67 J, is the
common crab of the markets, and it ranges from the Gulf of Mexico
to Cape Cod. Very closely allied species are also found in the
West Indies, on the African coast, and in the Pacific. Our crab
fishery is worth more than $320,000 per year to the fishermen
themselves. While we are sufficiently familiar with the general
appearance of the blue crab, an account of its habits may be inter-
esting. It delights in shallow bays and estuaries where the bot-
tom is muddy and covered with eel-grass, and the water may be
brackish. Here the crabs live during the summer, but in winter
they retire to deeper places. They feed upon dead or live fishes

100 SEA-SHORE LIFE

and many other marine animals. In fact, almost any decomposing
animal will be greedily devoured by crabs. The shell is shed at

Fig. OS; GREEN CRAB. Annisquam, Mass.

least once during the summer and the crab then expands consider-
ably, but remains soft for a few days, and is then sold in the mar-
kets as a "soft-shelled crab." The soft-shelled male crabs hide
away during this period, for they are qiaite defenceless, but the
soft-shelled female is protected by a hard-shelled male who clings
to her. The paddle-like expansions of the last joints of the hinder-
most pairs of legs enable the blue crab to swim rapidly, while its
other legs are used in crawling. It is exceedingly pugnacious
and makes effective use of its sharp, powerful claws.

The eggs are laid during the summer soon after the annual
moult, and are carried about attached to the abdominal appendages
of the female until they hatch.

This blue crab can be at once distinguished from all other
species of our coast by the sharp spine which projects outward
from each side of the body. It becomes fully six inches in width.

The Green Crab, fCareinus mcenas, Fig. 68 J. This crab is dark
olive-green mottled with yellow-green, and is abundant in Long
Island Sound, and on the New England Coast north of Cape Cod.
It is also found on the northern coasts of Europe, where it is sold

THE CRUSTACEANS

101

Fig. <5p; LADV CRAB. From a specimen in tlie
New York Aquarium.

in the markets. In this country it is ii.sed only for bait. It grows
to be about three inches in width, and two in length. There are
ten sharp-edged
teeth, five on each
side, which pro-
ject forward from
the front edges
of the shell. The
right hand claw
is somewhat larg-
er and blunter
than the left. It
is a pugnacious
fighter and rapid
runner.

The Lady
Crab, (Platyoni-
chus ocellat us,
Fig. 63), is a

beautiful species common on sandy bottoms from Cape Cod to
Florida, and is abundant on the southern Long Island coast. It is
of a delicate greenish-yellow profusely spotted with purple-colored

rings. The powerful claws are
armed with jagged teeth which
enable the crab to seize uj^on
the fish and other animals
which it devours. This crab
is often seen partially buried
beneath the sand with onl}^ the
eye-stalks protruding. The
hind legs are paddle-shaped
and the crab uses them very
effectually in swimming, al-
though it can also crawl with its
other legs. It grows to be about two and a half inches long and
three broad. The Gulf- Weed Crab, ( Portunus sayi, Fig. 70 J,
lives within the masses of gulf- weed (Sargassum) which float
over the tropical Atlantic, and is sometimes drifted upon our coast

Fig 7o; GULF-WEED CRAB. From float-
ing Gulf-weed. Tortuga.s, Florida.

102 SEA-SHORE LIFE

late in the summer. It is mottled in brown and dull yellow, and
matches its surroundings so perfectly when upon the gulf- weed, that
its discovery is practically impossible unless the weed be taken
from the water and shaken. The crab has paddle-shaped posterior
legs, and is a good swimmer, its side-legs being long and oar-like,
and fringed with delicate hairs. It becomes about one inch long
and one and three-quarters wide. A spine projects from each side
of the shell, and the pincers, although weak, are sharp.

Another little square-shaped crab called Plmies minntusYwes
also among the gulf weed, and legend has it that when Columbus
first saw this crab he reassured his timorous crew by stating that
land conld not be far away. The crab, however, never visits the
land, but spends its entire life upon the ocean.

The Mud Crabs, ( Panoi^eus, Fig. 77, iMcje 109). These are
small dark olive-brown crabs with large powerfid claws and with
sharp pointed legs adapted to crawling. They are abundant in
Long Island Sound, but extend from the tropics to Massachusetts
Bay. The name "mud crab" is indicative of their fondness for
muddy shores, where they live under stones or in burrows within
muddy banks or marshes. There are several closely allied species
which have been carefully separated and described by J. E. Bene-
dict and Mary J. Rathbun in "Proceedings of the U. S. National
Museum," Vol. XIV, 1891, p. 355. Pis. XIX-XXIV.

A conimen mud crab of Long Island Sound is Panopeus herh-
stii, Fig. 77, which ranges from Brazil to Rhode Island. It lives
within burrows in moist, muddy banks or under stones on muddy
bottoms. It becomes one and one-half inches broad, and is dull
brown-green in color. A smaller species with a flat-backed
shell, only about three-quarters of an inch in ^\idth, is Panopeus de-
pressiis. It may also be distinguished by its black-colored nippers.

The Rock Crab, (Cancer irroratxis, Fig. 71), is the common crab
of the New England coast north of Cape Cod, although it ranges
from South Carolina to Labrador. It is most abundant a little below
low tide level but also lives between tides, Avhere it is usually found
under stones, in rocky crevices or buried beneath the sand when
the tide is out. Above it is dull brick-red in color speckled over
with small brownish spots, while the under parts are yellow. Seen
from above the shell is oval without sharp points at the side, but

THE CRUSTACEANS

103

Fig. 71 ; Abo7^e: JONAH CRAB. Belozv: ROCK CRAB.
Cape Ann, Massachusetts.

104 SEA-SHORE LIFE

with nine blunt, smooth-edged teeth along each side of the front
edge. The claws are sharp but powerful. This is a crawling crab,
and all the legs end in a sharp spine, there being no paddle-like
swimming feet. The crab is closely related to the edible crab of
England and France but, while it is sold in our markets to a limited
extent, it is not highly esteemed. The shell grows to be three inches
long and five wide. The eggs are carried about by the female dur-
ing the summer and hatch as little spined larvte which swim at the
surface and soon moult and change into little creatures which
resemble the adults, excepting that the abdomen projects straight
out in a line with the shell instead of being folded under; and there
are short spines on the shell which are not seen in the adult. After
again moulting several times, the larva becomes a little rock crab.
The adult rock crabs moult in winter, and are then sold in the
New York market as soft-shelled crabs, although they are not to be
comj)ared with the more highly esteemed blue crab.

The Jonah Crab, (Cancer horealis, Fig. 71), is closely related to
the rock crab, but can be distinguished by its rougher shell, and the
saw-edged teeth on its front edges. It becomes larger than the rock
crab, and ranges from the eastern end of Long Island to Nova Sco-
tia. It lives on rocky shores exposed to the wash of the breakers,
and does not hide away under stones as does the rock crab.

The Oyster Crab, (Pinnotheres ostrenvi, Fig. 72). The
female of this crab lives, when mature, within the gill cavity of
the oyster, and is highly esteemed as a delicacy, being sold in
the markets at a higli price. In the female the
shell is pinkish-white in color and very thin, and
the legs so weak that the creature could not survive
away from the protecting oyster. The crab does
not devour the oyster, but merely lives in associ-
ation with it. The male crabs, however, swim
Fie: 72 ■ FEMALE freely over the sea, and they are brown in color with
oYSTEK CKAH. a, light colorcd central stripe, and four whitish
.ong sane ounc . ^p^^g They are smaller than the females, and
their shells are hard. The case of the oyster crab is interesting, for,
while the male has remained active, and has retained a hard shell
and strong claws and legs, the female has lived a protected life, and
her shell has degenerated into little more than a soft membrane, while

THE CRUSTACEANS

105

Fig. 73; fiHOST CRAB. Florida Beaches.

her legs and claws are now too weak to he of any service in the

battle for life outside of the cavity of the oyster shell. The eggs

are carried by the female until

they hatch. The larvte then

swim through the water, and

the little females enter oysters

in their last larval stages.

Another little crab (Finno-
i/te/"e.s//iac»Zai«t//iJisfound with-
in the cavity of the shells of the
common mussel, and the scallop.

The Ghost Crab, fOcijpoda arenaria, Fig.^. 73, 77 J, ranges from
Brazil to New Jersey. The young are often found late in summer
on the hot sandy beaches of the southern coast of Long Island, al-
though they probably die in the winter. The shell of the crab is
about two inches wide and a little less than this in length, and is
quite rectangular with an angular ridge along each side. The eyes

are mounted on the ends of
long stalks, which are usu-
ally held upright, but may
be folded back into sockets
on the face of the shell. The
crab is dull yellowish-white,
and the surface of the shell is
granulated. The claws are
sharp and powerful, one claw
being about twice the size of
the other. This crab digs
long inclined burrows fully
three feet deep into the sandy
beaches. It scrapes the sand
out "sidewise" with its
legs and throws it away from the mouth of the burrow by a
sudden dash. It is a scavenger, feeding upon decomposing animals
and plants, and even eating beach-fleas. Although these crabs are
relatively inactive during the day, at night they swarm in great
numbers over our southern beaches. As they flit rapidly about in
the moonlight their popular name of ghost crab seems remarkably

Fig. 74; FIDDLER CRAB.
Long Island, N. Y.

Male,

106

SEA-SHORE LIFE

appropriate. As one approaches they clash off with great rapidity
and will often rush into the water, although the gray snappers are

Fig- 75; Burrows of Fiddler Crabs. In the center of the tut a male crab may
be seen emerging from its burrow. Streets of Key West, Florida.

swimming close along the shore in order to devour them. The
crab rarely enters the sea excepting during the bseeding season,
in the spring of the year.

Mr. Beebe of the New York Zoological Park discovered that this
crab is very destructive to the eggs of sea birds on Cobb Island.

FIDDLER CRABS.

Fiddler Crabs, (XJca, Figs. 74, 75 J. These crabs live in immense
numbers on muddy banks above high tide, and literally riddle the
ground with burrows into which they rush for shelter at the least
alarm. In the male one claw is very large while the other is small,
but in the female both claws are small and of equal size.

The eyes are mounted upon long, movable eye-stalks. These
crabs feed upon plants, the male using his small claw, and the fe-

THE CRUSTACEANS

107

•male both of her claws for the purpose. They often scrape up
pellets of algce from the muddy surface of the ground, and carry
these into their burrows for food.

They can remain out of water, if the ground be damp, for
months at a time, and are exceedingly pugnacious, walking "side-
ways," usually with the great claw forward. In the construction of
its burrow the crab uses its walking legs to scrape out the mud.
This mud is then rolled up into little pellets, and dragged to a con-
siderable distance from the mouth of the burrcjw ; the crab all the
Avhile appearing exceedingly wary and moving its eye-stalks about
in all directions. In emerging from the burrow the great claw is
usually thrust out forward, whereas it is the last part of the crab
to be di'awn in in entering. There are three common species on
the Eastern coast of North America :

Uea pugnax, Fig. 74, burrows into salt marshes, completely
riddling the muddy banks with its holes. It ranges from Province-
town, Massachusetts, to Georgia, but a close variety is abundant in
the West Indies and Gulf of Mexico. The holes are about three-
quarters of an inch in diameter, and two or more feet in depth.

Uca minax is the largest of our fiddler crabs, and can be dis-
tinguished by the red spots at the joints of the legs. It digs its
l)urrows along the banks of rivers or brooks where the water is only
slightly brackish or
even fresh. It often
constructs an oven-
like archway of mud
over its burrow, thus
providing itself with
a safe place of look-
out for enemies. It
ranges from south-
ern New England to
Florida.

Uca pug Hat or
digs its burrow in
sandy or muddy beaches from Cape Cod to Florida. It can be dis-
tinguished by its rectangular outline and the highly polished sur-
face of the back of the shell.

Fig. 76; ORCHID LAND CRAB. Loggerhead Key,
Tortugas, Florida.

108 SEA-SHORE LIFE

The Orchid Crab, (Gecaveinus lateralis, Fig. 76 J, is a land crab,
and literally swarms over many of the Florida Keys and West In-
dies. It is also found at the Bermudas, and on the coast of South
America. The shell is about two inches wide and a little less than
this in length, with smooth, rounded edges. The central parts of
the back are dark purple— almost black, while the sides of the shell
and the large claws are rose-red. The walking legs and under parts
are dull yellow. This crab spends almost its entire life upon land,
the gills being small and enclosed in large chambers wl ich admit
air but maintain the cavity moist. The creature lives under damp
logs or leaves, or digs burrows fully three feet in depth ; and is
often found fully twenty feet above high tide level.

It is mainly nocturnal, and great numbers of them crawl aljout
during the night seeking all manner of refuse and carrion upon
which they feed. In the spring they all visit the ocean to breed,
and in midsummer they retire to the depths of their burrows to
moult. The crab is a fairly rapid runner and an excellent climber.
It is also a pugnacious fighter, being well protected by its very
hard shell.

The Spider Crabs, (Fig. 77 J. These are sluggish, weak-clawed
crabs with remarkably long, slender legs. Tiieir bodies are usually
flask-shaped with long, tapering snout, and short eye-stalks.
Although apparently stupid, these crabs have what is probably the
most highly developed nervous system foimd in the Crustacea, for
the ganglia of the body are often united into a single disk-like brain.

Many of the spider crabs have the habit of placing bits of sea-
weed, hydroids and other marine growths upon their backs, so that
the crab is completely hidden under a veritable marine garden. It
has been found that the crab deliberately bites off fragments of
weeds, chews them for a time and places the weeds upon its own
back, where they are caught by the saw-edged or hooked-hairs of
the crab's back, and probably also anchored by means of adhesive
mucous from the crab's mouth. The crab always covers itself with
the sort of weeds, etc., found in its immediate vicinity, and if
removed to another situation, the appearance of which is different,
promptly removes the old weeds and replaces them with those which
match the new surroundings.

One of the spider crabs (Macrocheira kam'pferi) is the largest

THE CRUSTACEANS

1U9

living crustacean, for the spread of the legs is fully 12 feet. It lives
off the coast of Japan at depths greater than GOO feet, and is occa-
sionally entangled in the set-lines of the fishermen.

Our largest spider crabs are Libinia diibia, Fig. 77, and

Fig. 77: Above: MALE SPIDKR CRAB.
Left: FEMALE SPIDEK CRAB.
Right: GHOST CRAB.
Center: MUD CRAB.

Libinia emarginata. They resemble each other closely, and the
legs of both spread about eighteen inches, the males being larger,
and having longer and stouter legs than the females. Libinia
emarginata has more spines on its back than Libinia dubia. Both
live from Cape Cod to the Gulf of Mexico, but Libinia emarginata
extends north of Cape Cod to the coast of Maine, and lives usually
in deeper water than Libinia dubia. Libinia dubia is very

110 SEA-SHORE LIFE

abundant in Long Island Sound on seaweed-covered bottoms, where
it attains its maximum size. The backs of these crabs are covered
with hairs, and sea weeds, barnacles, and hydroids often grow upon
them. They are used only for bait.

The Toad Crab, fllyas eoarctafiisj. This is a spider crab but
its body is relatively large and the legs slender and weak. It
spreads over not more than two and a half inches, and the back and
legs are often densely covered with seaweed which the crab affixes to
its body. It is abundant in shallow, rocky tide-pools from the Arctic
Ocean to New Jersey, but lives also in deep water off the coast,
where it crawls over rocky bottoms, and provides food for cod and
other fishes. It is the commonest spider crab along the New England
coast north of Cape Cod.

The Horseshoe Crab, (Limulus polyphemas, Fig. 25 J. This
common animal lives in shallow water along our coast from Yuca-
tan to Maine, and is often called the king crab. It is, however, not
a crab but is probably a descendant of the long extinct trilobites,
and there is reason to believe also that it is related to the spiders
and scorpions. It lives off muddy or sandy shores, and is often seen
slowly gliding over the bottom or half buried within the mud.
The shell over the head and trunk is crescent -shaped, smooth
and dome -like with two valley-like furrows along the sides of
the back. The large lateral eyes are easily seen, but if we look
more closely we will also see two little median eyes farther for-
ward. Altogether the appearance of the head region of the horse-
shoe crab is quite similar to that of the trilobites which died out in
the age of the coal, although the trilobites probably had no median
eyes. The abdomen of the horseshoe crab tapers rapidly back-
wards and is composed of six fused segments ending in a long,
sharp, movable spine, so that the animal is about one foot broad
and two feet long. The females are larger than the males. There
are seven pairs of legs. The first six end in nipper-like claws
while the seventh gives rise to a whorl of oar-like flaps used m
pushing the creature over the bottom. The five pairs of append-
ages of the abdomen are leaf-like, and serve as gills and for swim-
ming. In late spring and early summer the horseshoe crabs come
up in pairs upon the beaches, and deposit their eggs in holes which
they scoop out in the sand and leave for the waves to fill. They

THE CRUSTACEANS 111

are especially abundant upon the beaches at the times of the spring
tides. The eggs hatch in about a month, and the young bear a re-
markable resemblance to the trilobites so that they are said to be
in the trilobite stage. The sharp terminal spine develops later,
after moulting.

Horseshoe crabs have been used for making fertilizer in Dela-
ware Bay and are nearly exterminated in that region. They are
among the most interesting of all marine animals, and are probably
the last survivors of a race which may have been a connecting link
between the trilobites, crustaceans, and scorpions. There are very
few existing species, one being found on our coast and several on
the coast of Asia.

THE SEA SPIDERS

Pycnogonidce.

These are generally small creatiires Avhich crawl slowly over
hydroids and sea weeds, and bear a superficial resemblance to
sj)iders. Their true relationships are, however, a puzzle to
naturalists.

The body is extremely small, so that the stomach and re-
productive organs extend outward into the long, stout legs, the
stomach in some species reaching even to the tips, while the repro-
ductive organs open on the lower sides of the second joints.

There are typically seven pairs of appendages in the male and
six in the female, the third pair being absent in the females of
many species. In the male, however, these are developed into egg-
carryiiig organs, for he gathers the eggs into balls as soon as they
are laid, and fastens them to his third pair of legs by means of a
cement which issues from openings at the fourth joints of his walk-
ing legs. When the young hatch they often crawl over the male
in considerable numbers. In other genera the young enter the
digestive cavities of hydroids, and form gall-like enlargements upon
the stems, within Avhich they live.

PhoxicMlidium maxillare is a small species which varies in
color from blackish-brown through sepia to almost white, and
spreads about one inch. It is commonlj'- found crawling over
hydroids and sea-squirts, on shelly bottoms. The young live for a

112 SEA-SHORE LIFE

time within hydroids, forming gall-like swellings. The legs are
often sufficiently translucent to permit one to observe the wave-like
contraction of the stomach-tubes within them.

An excellent account, accompanied by good figures of the sea
spiders of our coast, is given by Edmund B. Wilson in the "Report
of the United States Fish Commission" for 1878; and in "Trans-
actions of the Connecticut Academy of Science," Vol. V.

MOLLUSKS.

A LTHOUGH mollusks incliide creatures of most diverse forms
and habits, there are certain things which we may say of the
race as a whole.

In the first place their bodies are not divided into segments,
as is often the case in worms and crustaceans. Moreover, the right
and left halves of the body are typically similar each to each,
although this is not the case in forms having coiled shells. The
lower surface of the body consists of a thick muscular foot used
in creeping. In front of the foot we find the head, which may
have a pair of eyes and tentacles; while the mouth lies on its lower
surface and is often provided with numerous horny, rasping teeth.
A flap-like fold of the body extends outward from the sides. This
fold is called the "mantle," and its free edge and upper part
secretes the shell which usually covers the back of the mollusk.
The feathery gills arise from the sides, and lie in the space between
the lower side of the mantle and the side of the body. The intes-
tine is coiled and opens typically at the posterior end of the body,
behind the foot. There is a paired digestive gland or "liver" which
pours its secretion into the mid-gut. The three-chambered heart
lies above the hind gut and pumps blood from the gills to other
parts of the body. The simplest mollusks are the Chitonidce or
armadillo slugs, specimens of which are commonly found crawling
over heaps of dead shells. Their bodies are flat and oval in out-
line, and the back is covered with eight shingle-like calcareous
plates. The mouth is situated on the lower surface immediately
in front of the broad muscular foot. A deep groove extends down
each side of the body, and from the bottom of this arise the lancet-
shaped gills. Chitons cling with great tenacity to the surface upon
which they maybe crawling, but if torn off they roll up into a ball.
A common species with us, about half an inch long, is Trachy-
dermon apicidata, which ranges from Cape Cod to the Gulf of
Mexico. It is abundant upon dead oyster shells and is usually
dull brown or gray in color, although some specimens are white.

114 SEA-SHORE LIFE

Acanthopleuni graniilata, Fig. 78, is a large chiton about three
inches long, which is abundant on rocky shores, between tide limits,
in the Bahama Islands and West Indies.

Another great group of mollusks are the snails, slugs and
limpets, which are all grouped under the scientific name of Gastero-
poda. In all of these the shell, when present, consists of a single

Fig. yS; Acanthopleui a grantilata the connnonest Chiton in the West Indies. From

Andros Island, Bahamas.

piece, not of a series of shingles, as in the chitons. In some Gas-
teropoda, however, the shell has become enclosed by an overgrowth
of the edges of the mantle, and may even disajDpear in the
adult state.

In snails we find that the viscera are protected by being cov-
ered with a spirally coiled shell, within which the entire foot and
head may be withdrawn. Indeed, in many of the sea snails we
find a horny or calcareous plate called the "operculum," which is
developed on the upper side of the posterior part of the foot, and
when the creature draws in its head and foot this completely closes
the aperture of the shell. The operculum is very rarely seen in fresh
water snails. The sea snails have at least one feathered gill, but
the land and fresh water species have lost their gills and the mantle
edge has fused with the side of the body, making a large, air- filled
cavity which opens at one point, usually on the right side, and
serves as a lung. One can easily see this breathing pore in slugs
and fresh water snails, and the latter must come to the surface at
regular intervals to let out a bubble of air, and take in a new sup-
ply. Slugs, land and fresh water snails are hermaphrodites, and
may bring forth their young in a well developed stage, although

MOLLUSKS lis

many species lay eggs. Many snails are herbiverous, while a few
prey upon barnacles or other niollusks. Sense organs are poorly
developed in snails, biit in land snails and slugs we often find eyes
mounted upon the tip ends of long tentacles which arise from the
head. In sea snails, however, the eyes are smaller, and are found
at the bases of the tentacles or only half way up.

The clams, oysters and mussels form a great group called the
''Laviellibranchiata,'' for their gills project in curtain-like sheets
from the sides of the body, within the shell. In these molhisks we
find two shells or more properly "valves," one on the right and the
other on the left side of the body, while the "hinge" between the
valves extends along the back of the animal. This hinge is tough
and muscular, and tends constantly to open the valves, but this is
prevented by the contraction of two powerful sets of muscles which
run across from one valve to the other.

The foot of the animal is often well developed and capable of
pushing the creature rapidly through the sand, as in the razor-
clam, while in other cases, as in the oyster, it is small and degenerate.
There is no distinct head, but the mouth has two leaf-like lips. It
should be said that the long, muscular "neck" of the soft-shell clam
is not the neck of the animal, but is a tubular outgrowth of the
mantle, which opens by two apertures. The one on the lower side
is for the admission of water to the gill chambers, and the other is
the anal aperture. A continuous current of water flows in at the for-
mer and out from the latter aperture. In scientific language the
"neck" of the clam is called the siphon, and it is Avell to remember
that it extends outward from the posterior end of the body; the
mouth being at the opposite side of the shell.

Clams, oysters and mussels feed upon minute plant and ani-
mal organisms, which are drawn in between the edges of the mantle,
or tlirough the siphon by means of the constant beating of vast
numbers of little hair-like cilia that cover the gills.

The most highly developed mollusks are the Cephalopoda,
represented by the squid, octopiis, nautilus, and argonaut. In
these we find two large eyes and eight or ten long, muscular,
sucker-bearing "arms" Avliich surround the mouth. These arms
constitute a portion of what was once the foot of the ancestral forms
from which the Cephalopoda are descended. The remaining part

116 SEA-SHORE LIFE

of the foot has become the tube-like "siphon," through which water
is ejected from the large mantle cavity.

In all living forms except the nautilus, the shell is internal,
although two of the arms of the female argonaut secrete a papery
capsule which resembles a shell in appearance, but is only a brood
pouch to hold the eggs, and is in no sense comparable with the
shells of other moUiisks. A more detailed account of the anat-
omy of the Cephalopoda will l^e given in the description of our
common squid. All of the Cephalopoda are very active creatures,
capturing fishes and other marine animals by means of their sucker-
bearing arms, and crushing the prey in their horny beaks. They
usually dart backward, being propelled by forcing the water from
the mantle cavity out through the siphon, the opening of which is
directed forward, but may ])e turned so as to drive the stream
backward.

In the adult form the mollusks appear to be widely separated
from all other groups of invertebrates; but a study of their devel-
opment shows, that in their earliest stages they are worm-like in a
number of important characters, and it seems probable that they are
remotely descended from worm-like ancestors.

Good accounts of our mollusks will be found in Arnold's "Sea-
Beach at Ebb Tide." Excellent figures and clear descriptions of
the species of the New England coast are given by Gould and Bin-
ney, in "Report on the Invertebrates of Massachusetts," 1870,
Wright and Potter, Boston; and the land shells are equally well
described in "The Terrestrial Air-breathing Mollusks of the United
States," by W. G. Binney, in Bulletin of the Museum of Compara-
tive Zoology at Harvard College, Vol. TV, 1878.

CLAMS, OYSTERS, AND MUSSELS.

Lamellihranehiata.

In this great order of mollusks the shell is divided into two
halves, or valves, each half shell covering a side of the body, while
the hinge of the valves extends down the middle of the back of the
animal. This hinge is an elastic cushion that tends to cause the
valves to gape open, but this tendency is counteracted by one or
two strong adductor muscles, that extend across from one valve

MOLLUSKS

117

to tlie other. In the oysters aad scallops there is but one adductor
muscle, while in clams and mussels there are two. When the ad-
ductor muscles relax, the hinge-cushion causes the valves to gape;

Fig. 79/ Mussel-s exposed at low tide. Annisquain, Mass.

and this is the normal condition while the animal is immersed and
feeding. When the tide goes out, however, or the creature is sud-
denly disturbed the adductors contract, thus closing the valves.

The shell is secreted hy a membrane called the mantle, that
arises from the right and left sides of the mid-dorsal line and
extends downward as a sheet on both sides of the body ; the form
of the sheet being similar to that of the shell it secretes. The outer
edges of the mantle are tliickened and are usually more or less
fused, thus binding the two valves together along their edges. Def-
initely placed o]3enings are, however, always found where the man-
tle edges do not fuse. One or two of these are opposite the posterior
end of the body of the animal, and allow water to pass in and out
of the mantle-cavity, while another on the ventral side allows the
foot to be thrust out. In the clams the openings for the admission
and expulsion of water are separated and the mantle is here ex-

118 SEA-SHORE LIFE

tended as a long double tube, erroneously called the " neck," that
projects outward from the posterior end of the shell. This neck
should be called the siphon and if one observes a living clam it
will be seen that a constant current of water is passing in through
the opening in the siphon that is farther away from the hinge, and
pouring out through the one nearer the hinge side This current is
caused by the beating in unison of myriads of cilia that cover the
gills of the clam; and thus water is brought in to aerate the blood,
and to provide the minute organisms upon which tlie clam feeds,
while the waste water and products of excretion are carried away
through the dorsal-most opening. But the mantle serves not only
to provide definite openings for water currents. It secretes the
horny outer skin, and the inner stony layers of the shell.

In all of the young and in the great majority of adult I;amelli-
branchs the two valves of the shell are exactly alike in shape, but
in those which live attached to objects the valves are often dissimi-
lar, as in the case of the oyster and the jingle shell fAnouiiaJ.

The body of the Tvaraellibranch lies suspended within the man-
tle-cavity, being attached to the mantle along its dorsal edge. The
mouth is near the dorsal side of the anterior end of the body, away
frmn the siphon. It has no teeth, and is a deep groove bordered
above and below by projecting ridges which function as lips.

The foot is a muscular expansion on the ventral side of the
body. In some attached forms the foot is very degenerate, but in
many of the clams it is developed into a strong blade-like organ,
capable of great expansion and contraction, and serving to move the
animal from place to place, to burrow, and in some forms even to
swim. In many forms the foot is provided with a special gland
that secretes a glue-like substance which adheres to anything it
touches, and hardens into a tough, elastic thread serving to fasten
the mollusk to an anchorage. This thread or rather accumulation
of threads is called the hy.ssns. The byssus may usually be cast off
at will, and renewed thread by thread. By means of these threads,
the mussels are able to drag themselves slowly about, or even to
climb.

The most characteristic organs of Lamellibranchs are the sheet-
like gills that arise from the sides of the body, and hang freely
within the mantle cavitv. Indeed thennme TxtiiieUih)'anc]iiata means

MOLLUSKS 119

" plate gills," and the gills of a clam or oyster bear a close super-
ficial resemblance to a pair of delicate leaves on each side of the
body. In some of the lamellibranchs, however, the gills consist of
delicate filaments calling to mind the barbules of a feather. Gills
of this sort are seen in the jingle shell (Anomia), the bloody clam
and in mussels. In oysters and clams, however, the feathery fila-
ments are fused one to another at many points, leaving sieve-like
openings through which water may pass in its course through the
gills. The gill sheets are also fused to the mantle, thus forming a
chamber through which the waste water from the gills passes
along the sides of the Ijody on its way to the excurren-t tube of the
siphon. The water current over the gills is maintained by the
orderly and constant beating of vast numbers of cilia that cover
their surfaces.

Lamellibranchs feed upon minute organisms, both animal and
vegetable. This food is drawn in with the water currents, and is
caught upon the slime of the gills, and then driven toward the
mouth by the movements of the cilia. There it is collected upon
the curtain-like lips, and driven by their cilia into the alimen-
tary tract.

There is a fairly well developed stomach which is surrounded
by a large liver, the duct of which empties into the stomach. A
long gelatinous rod called the crystalline stylet is often found in
the stomach, but its exact nature and function are unknown. The
intestine is twisted, and is surrounded by the genital organs.

The heart is three-chambered, and the hind-gut passes through
it. It pumps blood from the gills to other parts of the body.

The LcDnellihrancliiata are sedentary creatures and many of
them remain fixed from the end of their larval development until
death, as is the case with the oyster. A few, such as the scallop, are
enabled to swim in an awkward darting manner by the rapid
closure of their valves, thus driving the animal hinge-side forward.
Others, such as the clams, are enabled to burrow through sand and
mud by means of their muscular foot, while still others, such as the
mussels, drag themselves slowly about by means of their byssus
threads.

As one would expect in such slow moving creatures, sense or-
gans are poorly developed. On the mantle edge of the scallop,

120 SEA-SHORE LIFE

however, we find tentacles, and also complex eyes each provided
with a lens and a well developed retina which, curiously enough,
hears a close general resemhlance to that of the vertebrates, for it is
turned inside out. Near the sides of the gills are organs that are
believed to serve in tasting the water, and there is also a pair of
primitive ear-like, or balancing, organs in the foot. Each of these
consists of a cavity lined with cells which bear long hairs, while the
interior of the cavity is filled with a gelatinous fluid, and contains
one or more stony concretions, or even grains of sand. It is proba-
ble that these primitive ear-like organs enable the mollusks to per-
ceive shocks and jars in the water, and it is certain that many of
them are capable of perceiving sound.

The nervous system is quite simple and consists of three pairs
of ganglia, or masses of nerve cells, joined by nerve fibres. One
pair of ganglia is near the mouth and above the throat, another
pair is at the base of the foot, while the hindmost pair is under the
posterior end of the intestine.

The early stages in the development of clams, oysters and
mussels, bear a general resemblance to those of certain groups of
worms, and it seems probable that mollusks and worms are de-
scended remotely from one and the same ancient stock, which
is now extinct. The egg develops into a little pear-shaped larva
closely resembling the tack-headed larva (Trocliophora) of worms
excepting that it is provided with a half-shell on either side. The
little moUusk swims through the water until the shell becomes too
heavy, and then it sinks to the bottom. A considerable number of
young lamellibranchs attach themselves to objects by means of a
byssus thread which is secreted by a gland in the foot. After
growing older, however, they cease to develop a byssus, and change
their habits. The young of the scallop, the long clam, and the pearl
oyster form these byssus threads, while the well grown animal does
not. The young of the fresh-water mussels are parasites, and bury
themselves for a time beneath the skin of fishes.

A good general account of the structure of lamellibranchs is
given in Arnold Lang's "Textbook of Comparative Anatomy," Part
II, 1896, Macmillan Co.; and a systematic review by Woodward and
Tait in "Woodward's Manual of the Mollusca."

All of the Lamellibranchs are aquatic, and the vast majority are

MOLLUSKS 121

inliabitants of tlie sea. They differ greatly in size and shape, vary-
ing from microscopic dimensions to four and a half feet in width,
as in the giant clam (Tridaena gigasj of the tropical Pacific and
Indian Ocean. This great clam lives half buried in the coral reefs
with the sinuous gape of its shell upperaiost. It commonly remains
with its valves slightly open, showing the rich, blue edges of
the mantle, but if the tide retreats or if it be suddenly disturbed
the valves close tightly. The animal, exclusive of its shell, often
weighs twenty pounds and, although coarse, is sometimes eaten by
the natives.

Excellent photographs showing these clams partially exj^osed
at low tide are given by W. Saville-Kent in " The Great Barrier
Reef of Australia," Plate XXIX.

The American Oyster, (Ostrea virginiea, Fig. SoJ, is found
from the Crulf of St. Lawrence to Texas, but is most abundant in
Chesapeake and Delaware Bays and in Long Island and Pamlico
Sounds. It thrives best in shallow bays and estuaries where the
water is apt to be brackish. Our oyster fisheries are worth
$10,600,000 annually.

Oysters usually lie upon their sides, and the lower valve fas-
tens itself to a rock or other firm anchorage by the shelly secretion
of the mantle. This lower shell is almost always upon the left side
of the body, and is quite deep and convex, while the upper shell
is much flatter or even concave. At the narrow end of the shell
we will see a dark brown, elastic hinge, which is so arranged
that it tends constantly to cause the two valves of the shell to open,
but this is prevented by a strong miiscle that extends across from
both sides of the oyster's body and hinds the valves together.
This strong adductor muscle is commonly but erroneously called
the "heart." In the American oyster the place of attachment of
this muscle to the shell is marked by a dark brownish-purple area
while in the common Ostrea edulisoi Europe this area is uncolored.
When undisturbed, and under normal conditions oysters commonly
remain with their shells gaping slightly open. The inside of the
shell is lined with a delicate membrane called the mantle, Avhich
grows otit from both sides of the mid-dorsal line of the body and
secretes the shell itself.

There are also a pair of gills which arise from the sides

122

SEA-SHORE LIFE

}

Fig. So; AMERICAN OYSTER.

of the body, as two sheets on each side, near the mid-dorsal line,
and which lie free in the space between the mantle and the body

of the oyster. The digestive tract is
much coiled and twisted, and the mouth
of the oyster is placed close to the
hinge at the narrow apex of the shell,
where it is surrounded by curtain-like
lips.

There is a well developed stomach
which often contains a glistening, gela-
tinous, rod called the "crystalline style."
The function of this is unknown, al-
though it may possibly represent stored
up nutrient material.

The large green-colored liver sur-
rounds the stomach into which it
empties, while the reproductive organs
siirround the coiled intestine, and are very large during the
warmer months when the oysters are spawning.

A full-grown female oyster will produce about 9,000,000 eggs,
each being about one-five-hundredth of an inch in diameter. The
eggs are cast out into the water through the oviducts which open
into the gill cavity on both sides of the body below the adductor
muscle. They then develop into little free-swimming larvas which
swim rapidly through the water by means of their hair-like cilia.
The shells then appear upon the sides of the body, and when about
one-eighth of an inch wide the creature settles to the bottom with
its left side down, and there remains throughout life.

The true heart of the oyster is bulb-like in shape, and lies
within a delicate translucent sac close to the inner side of the great
adductor muscle. It pulsates slowly, and pumps blood from the
gills to other parts of the body. Growth is rapid at first, for
under favorable conditions the little oyster, or "spat," as it is
called, may become an inch across its shell in seven weeks, and
two inches in three months.

The oysters feed upon a great variety of minute organisms,
such as simple unicellular plants and animals, and small marine
larvfe. The gills are covered with waving cilia, which create a

MOLLUSKS 123

constant current providing fresh water to breathe, and also drawing
into the shell the food of the oyster. The organisms serving as
food are caught in the slime covering the gills, and are swept into
the open mouth by the action of the cilia. Oysters are capable of
detecting sound, for they close immediately when a loud noise is
produced.

The Surf Clam, (Mactra solidissima, Fig. SI). This is also
called the hen-clam. It extends from tlie Gulf of Mexico to Lab-
rador, and is
found on sandy
beaches from low
water to a depth
of about sixty
feet. The shell
is covered with a
horny, light-
brown skin, and
is not deeply fur-
rowed by lines of
growth. It grows
to be fully six
inches long and

four wide The /="/;§-. ^// surf clam. From are. Voung and old.

. . Annisquam, Mass.

Siphon IS short

and thick, while the foot is large, stout and muscular, and enables
the clam to dig rapidly into the sand. It does not construct a deep
burrow, however, but lives quite close to the surface, and is on this
account often cast ashore by storms. Its flesh is tough, and not
highly esteemed as food.

The Soft-Shell Clam, (Mya arenaria, Fig. 82 J. This is often
called the "long clam"' or "nanninose." It is found in sandy or
muddy shores from the Carolinas to the Arctic, and also on the
Northern coasts of Europe. It is common in the sheltered banks
of bays and estuaries between tide limits, where it burrows in the
ground by means of its muscular foot, having its long, extensible
siphon pointing upward. When the tide is high the siphon is
extended so as to reach to the opening of the burrow, but it retracts

124

SEA-SHORE LIFE

at times of low tide. This siphon may he as much as a foot in
length, and is pierced by two tubular openings, the one nearest the
hinge side of the clam serving to carry off the digested food, and
water from the gill chambers, while the other serves to admit water
into the gill chambers of the clam. There is thus a constant cur-
rent going into and passing out of the siphon. The shell is quite
thin and brittle. This clam spawns in early summer, and the eggs

Fig. S.2; SOFT-SHELL CLAM. From lite. Aimisquam, Mass.

develop into little free-swimming larvae which soon settle down
upon seaweed or other submerged objects and attach themselves
by means of a thread called a byssus, Avhich is secreted by a gland
in the foot of the little clam. Soon they free themselves and sink
to the bottom, where they begin to burrow when about one-quarter
of an inch long. They still attach themselves to particles of
sand, however, and often leave one burrow to construct another.
Finally, however, they dig a permanent burrow which they rarely
or never leave, and no longer ]u-oduce a byssus.

This valuable mollusk is highly esteemed in the market. The
fishery in the New England States is worth more than $500,000
annually.

MOLLUSKS

125

Fig. Ss; LITTLE-NECK CLAM. Long
Island Sound.

The Round Clam, Quahaug, or Little-neck Clara, f Venus mer-
cenaria, Fig. S3J, is the common hard-shelled clam of the New-
York market, and the fishery in the Middle Atlantic States is worth
$200,000 annually. The Indians
made their purple wampum from,
its shell.

The hard clam ranges from
Yucatan to Nova Scotia, but is
common only from the Carolinas
to Cape Cod. It is most abund-
ant in shallow bays and estu-
aries where it lives below the
level of low tide.

It is often seen lying upon
the bottom, but is able to bur-
row to a slight de[)th by means of
its strong muscular foot which
can be protruded from the shell
so as to sweep backwards and
forwards over a wide area. The siphon is short and blunt, and the
end displaying the two openings is forked. A continuous current
of water flows in through the lower opening, and out through the
opening nearest the hinge of the shell. The mantle edge around
the lip of the valves is crumpled. The shell is covered by a grayish
or dull broAvnish-gray skin, and it displays quite regular and deep
rings of growth. The siphon is light yellow, while the foot is
white. Kellogg finds that these clams grow very rapidly, and
may become about three and a quarter times their former volume
in six months. These clams feed upon diatoms and minute organ-
isms, which are drawn into the gill chamber through the in-current
tube of the siphon. The particles serving as food are collected by
the slime upon the gills, and driven into the mouth by the motion
of the cilia, while undesirable material is thrown upon the surface
of the body or the mantle and then driven to the base of the in-
current opening of the siphon, where it may be discharged by a
sudden closure of the valves of the shell.

The Razor Clam, (Ensis americana, Fig. 84). This curious
clam resembles in shape the handle of a razor, and is found from

126

SEA-SHORE LIFE

Labrador to the Florida Keys. The shell becomes about six inches
long and is only one inch wide. The clam has a long muscular foot
which can be withdrawn within the shell but may be protruded
fully five inches out from the anterior end. By means of this foot
the clam burrows through sandy beaches with wonderful rapidity,

Fig. 84; RAZOR CLAM. Annisiiuam, Mass.

SO that it is practically impossible to capture one of them with a
spade after it has once buried itself JDeneath the surface. At low
tide the clam often comes to the surface and remains with the pos-
terior end of its shell projecting, allowing the short siphon to pro-
trude into the air. If it be disturbed it darts rapidly back into its
burrow. This clam is very palatable, but the difficulty of capturing
it prevents its being sold in any quantity in the markets. It is
found commonly within sandy sea beaches or sand bars where the
water is not brackish.

The Sand-Bar Clam, fSiliqaa costata, Fig. So J. This shell is
about one and three-quarter inches long and three-quarters of an

inch wide. It lives within

loose sandy beaches and
bars, in shallow water, but
does not extend above low
tide level. It occurs from
Nova Scotia to the Carol i-
nas but is found only in
situations where the ocean
water is pure. The shell
is covered with a rich brown skin, which gives it a polished sur-
face. The siphon is slender but quite long, while the foot is broad

m —

fig. S3; SAND-KAR CLAM. Cape Ann, Mass.

MOLLUSKS 127

and muscular and its end flattened to serve as a pushing organ.
The clam burrows onl}- a short distance beneath the sand and occa-
sionally comes to the surface where it literally skips along by means
of its powerful foot, aided by the flapping motion of its valves. In
common with all other clams it feeds upon minute organisms both
vegetable and animal.

The Swimming Clam, (Solenomya velum. Fig. 86 J, ranges from
North Carolina to Nova Scotia, where it burrows into sandy or
muddy beaches immediately be-
low tide level. In common with
tlie razor clam, and sand-bar
clam, it prefers pure ocean water.
It is not over three-quarters f»f
an inch in length, and the sliell
is thin and flexible with a ricli
brown surface varied by yellow
lines radiating from the hinge. ^^^- »(>-■ swimming clam, cape

mi c c 1 • 1 T Ann, Mass.

The foot of this clam can be ex-
panded into an umbrella shape at its apex. When the foot is
expanded and driven suddenly outward, the clam swims backward,
but when the foot is suddenly withdrawn it swims forward. In

this manner the clam is enabled to swim for
a considerable distance through the water with-
out touching the bottom.

The Bloody Clam, (Argina pexata, Fig.

87 J, is common under stones or within gravelly

beaches, below^ low-tide level, from Florida to

Cape Cod. It attaches itself to stones by

means of a byssus thread which is secreted by

— -^ a gland in the foot. The shell is oblong, about

F!£:. sy/ BLOODY one and one-quarter inches wide, and covered

with a rough, brown skin. There are about 32

ridges that radiate outward from the beak of the shell. The gills

and circulatory fluid of the clam are red. Hence the popular name

of "bloody clam."

The Ship-Worm, or Teredo, (Fig. 88), is not a worm but is
closely related to the clams. Its peculiar elongate form and worm-
like appearance are due to its habit of burrowing into any sort

128

SEA-SHORE LIFE

of wood, excepting palmetto logs or teak. The ship-worm begins
to burrow into the wood by movements of its foot and shell, when
only as large as a pin's head, so that the opening to the burrow
is small. For a short distance from the entrance inward the bur-
row is apt to be perpendicular to the surface, but it soon turns
and runs more or less in the direction of the grain of the wood,
although usually quite twisted. The burrow is lined with shelly
material secreted by the teredo, and it is interesting to observe that
no matter how numerous the teredos infesting a piece of wood, their
tubes remain separate one from another and never intersect. The
shelly material lining the tube is not the true shell of the teredo.
The true sliell is found at the head-end of the body which is farthest
in from the opening to the burrow. Its two valves are small,
white and delicately sculptured. The long, worm-shaped body is yel-
lowish-white and tapers gradually to the posterior end which is
near the opening of the burrow. The two long, extensible siphons
are found here; and on both sides near their base are a pair of

Fig. 88; SHIP-WORM with SIPHONS PHOTKUDING. From living specimens infesting

wood in the New York Aquarium.

shelly llappers which serve to close the opening of the burrow
when the siphons are withdrawn. A thick muscular collar at the
base of the flapper also assists in closing the opening.

The teredo does not eat the wood into which it bores and is,
therefore, but little affected by poisoning the timber. The most
efficient protection is copper sheating. Species of teredo are widely
distributed and do enormous damage to submerged timber. Tere-

MOLLUSKS

129

Fig.

CDD CLAM.

do navalis is abundant along our shores and also on the coasts of
Europe, where it has done great damage to the woodwork of the
dikes of Holland.

The eggs develop within the gill cavity of the teredo and are
cast out chiefly in May and June as actively swimming ciliated
larvje. They then develop a pair of
relatively large shells resembling those
of a clam, and finally eyes, and a long
foot wliich enaljles them to crawl over
timber into which they soon burrow.

The Cod Clam, (Cardita borealis,
Fig. 89), is one of the foods of the cod.
The shell is about one inch long and
three-quarters of an inch wide, and
there are about 20 deep, curved, fur-
rows which radiate outward from the
beak of the shell. The shell is covered with a dark brown skin.
It is common on rocky and gravelly bottoms at a depth from 30
to 600 feet from Cape llatteras to the Arctic, and it also occurs
on the Pacific shores of Alaska, and on the northern coasts of
Europe.

.MARINE MUSSELS

Most of the mussels, or Mytilidcv, are marine, although a few are
found in fresh water. The shell is elongate and thin, and covered
with a thick skiu. The Common Edible i\lussel (Mytilns edulis
Fig>i. 7'J, 90), abounds on mud flats between tide limits and ranges
from North Carolina to California, being also common along the
Arctic shores and the northern coasts of Europe. The shell is
covered with a glossy black, bluish or brown skin without radiat-
ing ridges. The mussel attaches itself to objects by means of a
strong yellow-colored byssus-thread which is secreted by a gland
in the foot, and which soon hardens in the air into a tough, thread-
like anchor rope. Great masses of mussel shells cover the shallow
flats, anchored one to another by means of these threads. They
can, however, leave their anchorages by casting off the threads
from the foot, and then pushing themselves about so as to move
into more favorable situations. They can also climb by extend-

180

SEA-SHORE LIFE

Fig. 50; EDIBLE MUSSEL. Cape
Ann, Mass.

iiig tlie foot upwards, and attaching themselves successively
higher and higher up by means of newly formed byssus threads.
When the tide is high the valves of the mussels will be seen to

be gaping, and the beautifully
.. fringed edges of their mantles

protruding slightly, allowing

water and minute organisms to be

^ drawn into their gill cavities, and

from thence into their mouths at
the opposite end of the shell.
There are two adductor muscles
instead of one, as in the oyster,
but in most respects the anatomy
of the mussel closely approaches that of the oyster. In France the
mussels are cultivated and highly esteemed as food, and the fishery
is worth more than f 150,000 annually. We make very little use
of our mussels, as at times they are said to be more or less poison-
ous; especially those found growing upon wood. An account of
the development of the edible mussel is given by John Wilson in
"Fifth Annual Re-
port of the Fishery
Board for S c o t -
land," for 1886.

The Ribbed
Mussel , ( Modiola
plieatida, Fig. 91J,
can be disting-
uished by the radi-
ating ridges of the
shell. It is a brack-
ish water sjiecies
and is found between tide limits from Nova Scotia to Georgia.
•■■•■ The Horse Mussel, or Bearded Mussel, f Modiola modiolus, Fig.
94), lives half buried in gravelly bottoms, or firmly attached by its
byssus threads within crevices of rocks, below low-tide level. It
ranges from New Jersey to the Arctic Ocean, and the northern
coasts of Europe. It is chestnut brown, and the skin flakes off
around the edges of the shell, forming a shaggy yellow "beard."

■■'An illustration of the Horse Mussel with scale limpets and egg cocoons of Kock Snail, on
page 1^48.

Fig. gi; EIBHED MUSSEL.

MOLLUSKS

131

Among the most interesting of the mussels are the rock boring
forms called Lithophagus, Fig. 92, which are common in all tropi-
cal oceans. When voung
the shell bores into, or dis-
solves out, a cavity for
itself within coral rocks
or dead coral, and there it
remains throughout life,
enlarging the cavity as it
grows. It is interesting
to notice that some of the
sj^ecies of rock boring
mussels attach them-
selves to the inside of
their rocky tunnels bv
means of a byssus, al-
though this can certainly
serve no useful purpose,
as the opening of the tun-
nel is always too small to allow the shell to drop out. It is evi-
dently a habit inherited from their remote free-living ancestors.

Fig. (j3; liock-boriutt Mussel ( Lit/iophagus) witliin
a fragment of coral breccia. Tortugas, Florida.

Fig. 93; RAZOK SHELL. Florida.

The author has observed a byssus formed by Lithophagus from the
Bahamas having a sliell four and one-half inches long.

The Razor Shell, f Pinna muricata, Firj. 93), is another inter-

132 SEA-SHORE LIFE

esting relative of the massel family. It is common in shallow
water along the sandy shores of the West Indies and Florida, and
extends as far north as the North Carolina coast. Each valve of
the shell is fan-shaped, with a sharp-pointed apex and a wide,
sharp-edged margin. It attaches itself by means of a strong
byssus-thread to a rock beneath the sand, and the broad edge of
the shell projects above the surface of the ground. The valves of
the shell open and shut rythmically, thus creating a current of
water over the gills and drawing minute organisms into the ever
open mouth. The razor shells, owing to their great abundance,
and sharp edges, render wading with bare feet all but impossible
on parts of the Florida coast.

THE FRESH-WATER MUSSELS.

There are fully (500 species of fresh-water mussels in the
streams of the United States, and more than three-quarters of them
live in the Mississippi and its tributaries. The shells are usually
elongate and covered with a thick outer skin. The two valves of
the shell are similar each to each, and there is a well developed
foot, by means of which the animal ploughs along through the mud
making a deep furrow with only about one-half of the posterior end
of the shell projecting. There are two large openings in the man-
tle at the posterior end of the shell, and these openings are usually
beautifully fringed. The one nearest the hinge side is the anal
aperture while the other serves to admit water and minute organisms
into the gill chambers. Although usually dull brown or greenish
in color on the outside, the inside of the shells are beautiful, some
being purple-black, others silvery white, golden copper color, salmon-
pink or yellow. On this account they are highly prized for the
manufacture of buttons, and this industry on the Mississippi alone
is worth $40,000 annually. Valuable pearls are also obtained from
these mussels.

The eggs of the fresh-water mussels are carried in pouches
between the layers of the outer gills, and there they remain until
they have developed a bivalve shell, the lips of which are armed
with sharp, hook-like spines. The little mussel is then cast out and
drops to the bottom where it comes to rest with the open valves of
its shell upwards, and then it thrusts out a long, glutinous, thread

MOLLUSKS 133

that waves through the water. If by chance this thread comes in
contact with the fins or scales of a fish it instantly attaches itself,
and draws up the little mussel
so that it is enabled to snap its
shell upon the fin and hold tight-
ly by means of its sharp spines.
This irritates the tissues of the
fish, so that the skin grows over
the little attached mollusk, en-
closing it in a capsule or cyst. It
remains thus for from two weeks

to more than two months, and ^^^^ W- ^

finally frees itself from the fish
and drops to the bottom as a well

111 1 mi 1 Fig. 95; COMMON SCALLOP.

developed mussel. The mussels

are thus transported from stream to stream through the agency

of fish, and this accounts for their A-ery wide distribution.

The fresh-water mussels of lakes and ponds are thin-shelled
and belong to a group called the anodontas, while those of running
streams are thick-shelled and are called unios. They grow very
slowly and do not begin to breed until they are from three to seven
years old, although they probably live to be from fifteen to twenty-
five years of age In 189G the pearls obtained from mussels in
Arkansas were valued at 835,000, some of them being worth over
'$1,000 apiece

The Scallop, (Fecten irradians, Fig. 95). The common scallop
ranges from Tampa, Florida, to Nova Scotia. It is most abundant
near the eastern end of Long Island Sound, and, Avhile common at
Provincetown, Cape Cod, is exceedingly rare north of that place.
It lives best in shalloAv bays, and harbors, where the bottom is apt
to be sandy or covered with eel grass. The shell is flattened at the
hinge, forming a pair of "ears," and about 19 radiating ridges
extend outward from the beak of the shell. Professor Davenport
found that long ago in Pliocene times the scallops had from 19 to
22 of these ridges but that the normal number for modern shells is
only 19. When the scallop is young it attaches itself to eel grass,
or other submerged objects, by means of a byssus comjDosed of stout,
thread-like anchorages secreted by a gland in its foot. The little

134 SEA-SHORE LIFE

scallop thus remains attached until it is from one-half to one and
a half inches long, after which it frees itself and swims actively

about by flapping the valves of its
shell. The mantle edge around the
lips of the shell is studded with dark
iridescent blue eyes which glow
when alive with a beautiful fluor-
escence; and scattered between the
eyes there are numerous delicate
feelers. The large adductor muscle,
that serves to close the shell, is the
only part eaten by man, and is the
scallop of the markets.

The scallop breeds during the

Fig. c6; ARCTIC SCALLOP. Maine. . „

summer, and grows very rapidly,
becoming more than an inch long before the winter. During
the winter growth is very slow, but is resumed in the spring. It
seems probable that scallops do not live to be more than three or
four years old. They are captured by dredging in autumn and
winter, but the supply in any one locality is uncertain, owing to the
wandering habits of the animals. The scallop fishery of Connecti-
cut and Rhode Island is worth $115,000 annually.

The Arctic Scallop, (Pecten islandieus, Fig. 96 J. is very rare
south of Cape Cod, but is quite common in depths of 150 feet and
more off the northern New England coast. It ranges into the Arctic
and is found on the northern coasts of Europe. The outer surface
of the shell is covered with a scaly skin; there are about 100 shallow
ridges, and the "ears" are unequal, the posterior one being the
shorter and its angle obtuse.

The Jingle Shell, fAnomia simjDlex, Fig. 97 J. This is also
called the gold shell, or scale shell, and the name jingle shell is
given in allusion to the ringing sound produced Avhen the Avaves
beat upon beaches strewn with the dead shells. The shell is scale-
like and of a greenish-yellow color. It is one to three inches broad
and the upper valve is convex while the lower is flat or concave,
and matches the irregularities of the surface to whicli the shell is
attached. The peculiar feature of the lower valve is a large hole
near the apex. A stout, stony stalk passes through this opening.

MOLLUSKS

135

and is fastened to the rock or other body upon which the jingle
shell is growing. This stalk of attachment is in reality the byssus,
and when first formed it is flexible as are the attaching threads of
many other clams and mussels.

The jingle shell is found from the West Indies to Cape Cod,
and is very abundant in Long Island Sound. It is, however, rare
north of Massachusetts Bay,
although it has been found as
far north as Cape Sable. It is a
shallow water form, not living
at a depth greater than 70 feet.

The dead shells are of
considerable commercial im-
portance, for they are used by
the oystermen to be strewn
over the beds in order to give
the little oyster a good surface
upon which to set. The shell
is Avell figured in Verrill and
Smith's "Invertebrates of
Vineyard Sound," p. 17 (311),
Plate XXII, Figs. 241, 242, under the name of Anoiiiia glabra.

The Pearl Oyster, (Meleagvina margaritiferaj. This species and
several closely related varieties furnish the most valuable mother of
pearl and precious pearls known. The pearl oysters are especially
abundant in the Indian Ocean and tropical Pacific but they are also
found in the Gulf of California, the Red Sea, and sparingly in the
West Indies. The fisheries of the Persian Gulf are worth •$ 2,boO,000
annually and those of Ceylon are almost as valuable. About 15,-
000 tons of pearl shells are used by the world each year, the value
of which ranges from about $900 to S250 per ton. The pearl
oyster is a large, flat bivalve, with a long, straight hinge, and quite
regularly curved contour to the shell, and is about ten inches broad.
On the outside the shell is dark-olive often mottled with irregularly
crescent-shaped yellowish spots, or streaked with broken yellowish
lines radiating from the apex. The outer skin of the shell is rough
and flakes off into long, ragged, scale-like projections, especially near
the outer edges. Inside one finds the beautiful nacre of the shell

J^tg- 97/ JIN<U.E SHELL UPON A ROCK.
Long Island Sound.

136 SEA-SHORE LIFE

which is deposited in layers by the mantle as the shell grows. Con-
trary to the general opinion, pearls appear not to be formed around
grains of sand but around minute parasites, or even an egg of the
oyster itself. However, some foreign body causes an irritation of
the mantle, and the nacre is then deposited in layers around the
disturbing substance. The best pearls are spherical and are not
attached to the shell itself, for if they become fastened to the shell
they grow irregularly, and their value is lessened. They are always
of the same color as the nacre of the shell, and as individual oysters
vary considerably, this may be a steely black, a brilliant iridescent
white, delicate pink or yellow. In the Gulf of California only about
one oyster in a thousand contains a pearl. Pearls are most abund-
ant in diseased oysters, or those which are attacked by boring
sponges and other parasites, and are best developed in oysters
about four years old. Great as may be the value of individual
pearls, the pearl fisheries are mainly dependent upon the sale of the
shells themselves. Immense numbers of shells are annually used
in the manufacture of buttons and ornaments.

The pearl oysters attach themselves, when young, by a strong
byssus-thread to rocks in water from 25 to 250 feet deep, and they
are abundant in some of the lagoons of the coral islands of the Pa-
cific in water about 100 feet in depth. In the Paumotos Islands the
natives obtain them by the primitive method of diving to the bottom
without the aid of diving suits or other apparatus. Having dis-
covered the situation of a pearl shell by means of the water glass,
which is merely a glass-bottomed bucket, the diver proceeds to
whistle shrilly, filling his lungs repeatedly to their fullest capacity.
He then jumps in feet foremost but immediately turns and swims
head down to the bottom, carrying with him a half pearl shell
with which to cut the living pearl shells off from the rocks below.
The writer observed one experienced diver who went down in 90
feet of water and remained below two minutes and five seconds,
bringing up two pearl shells. The largest known pearl belongs to
Mr. Hope, of England, and has long been on exhibition in the South
Kensington Museum. It is nearly four and a half inches in diam-
eter, but is somewhat irregular. The iridescence of pearls is an
optical phenomenon and is due to the interference of light caused
by minute corrugations over the surface of the pearl,

MOLLUSKS 137

SNAILS AND SLUGS.
Gasteropoda.

Fully 15,500 species of living mollusks belong to the great
order of Gasteropoda, which means stomach foot. A wide diversity
of forms are met with, but when young they all have a single shell;
although this may degenerate into a mere internal scale, as in the
case of the slugs, or disappear entirely in adult life as in the case
of the naked mollusks fNudihrancJiiataJ.

A flat, creeping sole, or foot is usually present, and the head
is distinct and usually provided with feelers and eyes, while within
the mouth we find a remarkable ribbon-like tongue which is cov-
ered with rows of horny rasping teeth, and is called the radida.

The vital organs are contained in a large sac-like body-mass
that is joined by a relatively slender neck to the upper side o£ the
foot. In tlie simplest forms this body-mass is dome shaped, or
conical, but in the course of evolution its Aveight has caused it to
topple over to the left side of the body, and then in order to present
the least surface to possible injury it has become coiled usually in
a right-handed direction. The shell which covers the body-mass
naturally has a shape similar to that of the body-mass itself, and the
vast majority of gastropoda shells are right-handed spirals. This
toppling over of the body- mass and shell upon the left side has
caused the gill, kidney opening and other external organs of that side
either to disappear or to migrate toward the right side, so that in
Gasteropoda we usually find a feathered gill only on the right-hand
side of the body, underneath the mantle-fold, although in some
species the gill Avhich was originally on the left side has come
around and still persists on the right side of the body, and thus
the animal has two gills on the right side and none on the left.

In the typical snail, then, the intestine bends back upon itself,
and opens on the right side of the body near the head, while a lit-
tle in front of the anus lies the opening of tlie kidney and still
further forward the gill.

In a few forms we may find a kidney-duct and a gill back of
the anus, these having shifted over from the left side of the body ;
but this condition is not often seen, for these organs have usually
disappeared, instead of travelling around the body from the left to
the right side,

138 SEA-SHORE LIFE

The shell serves not only to protect the intestines, but the en-
tire head and foot may be withdrawn within it.

In many sea-snails there is a horny or stony plate called the
operculuiu which lies on the dorsal side of the posterior end of
the foot, and when the foot is withdrawn this closes the opening
of the shell.

The mantle projects as a curtain beyond the lip of the shell,
and protects the gills and other organs which lie in the space be-
tween it and the side of the body. Often the mantle curtain is so
large that it is reflected upward over the outer surface of the shell,
Avliich it may entirely encase. The secretions of the mantle serve to
keep the outer surface of the shell smooth and even highly pol-
ished as in the cowries, but in many cases the shell has degene-
rated and become permanently covered by the mantle as in slugs.

In most of the fresh-water snails, and in land snails and slugs,
the free edges of the mantle have fused with the side of the body,
leaving only one opening for the admission and expulsion of air on
the right side of the body.

In these forms the gill has disappeared, and a sort of lung is
formed by the ramification of a network of blood vessels over the
inner surface of the mantle. These snails are obliged to take in a
fresh supply of air at regular intervals and if one observes a com-
mon pond snail it will be seen to come to the surface and emit a
bubble of air from its air-pore and then take in fresh air before
descending. Indeed, fresh water snails will soon drown if they be
not allowed to come to the surface to breathe. Curiously enough
practically none of these lung-breathing snails have an operculum
when adult.

The gill of the operculum-bearing snails is feathered and
close by the side of it one finds a smaller feathered body called the
ospliradiiim which is possibly an organ for tasting the water that
is being breathed. In these snails one often finds opposite the gill
a long tidmlar fold of the mantle which serves to conduct water
into the gill chamber. This fold is often protected by a snout-like
projection of the shell above it. The water is usually discharged
through another opening which lies farther back.

The sense organs of the Gasteropoda are poorly developed
although they are very sensitive to touch. The feelers on the head

MOLLUSKS

139

Ftg. gS; NORTHEliN SAND-

COLLAK SNAIL. Long

Island Sound.

are often not only tactile organs bnt serve as eye-stalks. In the
land-snails and slugs the little cup-like eyes are at the extremity
of the feelers while in sea-snails they lie
at the base of the tentacles, or only half
way lip. The eggs of snails are sur-
rounded hy gelatinous envelopes or en-
closed in parchment-like cocoons of
definite shape. Some of the eggs of
land-snails contain a great deal of nutri-
ent jelly and may be covered with a
firm, smooth shell. Indeed, they may
be as large as the egg of a pigeon as in
the case of our American land-snail,
Bnlinuifi. The early stages of segmen-
tation in the developing eggs of snails
are quite similar to those of the flat-worms, and this probably
indicates that both flat-worms, and mollusks are descended from
a common stock. In many of the sea-snails the larva becomes a
fi'ee-swimming, pear-shaped creature propelled by one or more rings
of cilia around the place of its greatest girth, and having a bristle
of cilia at its blunt anterior end, and wliat is most interesting*
the clams, mussels and ringed-worms (Annelids) go through a very
similar stage in their development. Later a pair of large flat lobes
grow out on either side of the mouth, and the edges of these lobes
are fringed with powerful cilia which enable the little mollusk to
swim rapidly through the water. The larva is now called a veliger.
Finally the veliger lobes degenerate, and the shell becomes so large
that the larva sinks to the bottom as a small snail.

In slugs and some land and fresh-water snails the primitive
shell and operculum are sometimes cast off, and another shell which
remains throughout life may develop. This casting off of the shell
takes place before the little snail hatches from the egg.

A good account of the development of snails is given by Kor-
schelt and Heider in their "Textbook of Embryology," Vol. IV,
MacmiUan, 1900.

The Sand-Collar Snails, (Lxinatia lieros and Neverita duplicata,
Figs. 98-100). These large snails are found in shallow water
along sandy beaches, and are very abundant off the coasts of Long

J40 SEA-SHORE LIFE

Island and New Jersey. L. heros, Fig. 9S, ranges from Virginia to
I^nbrador, and N. diiplicata, Fig. 99, from Yucatan to Massachusetts

Bay. They may be recognized by their
large size, light yellowish-brown or bluish-
Avhite color, blunt, rounded spire, and sim-
ple, round opening with a sharp-edged
lip. In L. heros the umbillicus, or cen-
tral cavity of the body whorl, is widely
open whereas in A^. duplicata it is practi-
cally closed by a plug. The whole shell
is also flatter than in L. heros. The ani-
i^z.e. pp.sorTHERNSANiJ- ji^qI jg gg large that when seen expanded

COLLAR SNAIL. New Jersey. . i Ti • n i i • i i

it seetns hardly conceivable that it could
withdraw into its shell. However, it can perform this feat very
rapidly, and then completely close the opening Avith its horny
operculum.

The broad, muscular foot of these snails secretes a large
amount of mucous, enabling the creature to glide readily over the
bottom or bury itself beneath the surface, which it always does if
in danger of being stranded by the tide. The edges of the foot are
sharply angular, and a large piece forward of the head is reflected
back, making a thick, fleshy shield which serves as a ploughshare
when the animal burrows through the sand in search of prey. The
mantle is very contractible, and can be reflected uj^ward over the
shell so as to almost wholly enclose it. The surface of the shell is
thus bathed in the secretion from the mantle, and kept smooth as
is common with all mollusks ihat cover their shells in this manner.
A notch-like fold in the free edge of the mantle admits water into
the gill cavity. The head is provided with two sharp-pointed
tentacles.

These creatures are carniverous and devour other mollusks,
including the young of their own species. They are especially
enemies of the clams. Applying the proboscis to the surface of the
clam shell, it bores through by means of its ribbon-like tongue,
which is armed with numerous rasping teeth. This boring process is
usually facilitated in carnivorous mollusks by a secretion of sul-
phuric acid. The hole bored is circular, and its sides beveled as
if countersunk,

MOLLUSKS

141

The well-known "sand-collars" are the egg capsules of this
snail. When first pressed out from the side of the animal the collar

Fig. lOo; Northern 8aiid-collar Snail crawling over a sandy bottom between two of its egg
cocoons. From life. Cape Aou, Massachusetts.

is composed of a glutinous material in which the eggs are imbedded
in great numbers arranged in regular rows. Sand immediately
adheres to the collar, and it soon hardens. These collars are com-
mon throughout the summer. The young snails often have two or
three rows of dull purple spots running spirally down the shell;
but these disappear in the adults.

The Giant Whelks, fFulgHrearica,andSijcotypuscanalicuJatvs,
Fi<j. 101 J. Our whelks are the largest coiled shells to be found
north of Cape Hatteras. They extend from the Gulf of Mexico to
Cape Cod, and are especially abundant off the New Jersey coast
and in Long Island Sound upon gravelly or sandy bottoms at, or
IdcIow, low-tide level, where they plough along with the foot partially
buried beneath the surface of the ground. The shells of our
whelks grow to be fully six inches long, and are pear-shaped, with a
long, tapering snout, or anterior canal. The Knobbed Whelk, (Ful-
giir caricaj, may at once be recognized by the circlet of knob-like
protuberances around the shoulder of the body- whorl of the shell.

142

SEA-SHORE LIFE

The Channelled Whelk, fSycotypiis canaliculaius J has no knoh-like
protuberances, but there is quite a deep channel at the suture of

the spire. Also in the chan-
nelled whelk the shell is covered
with a rough, hairy-looking
skin whereas the surface of the
shell of the KnoblDcd Whelk is
smooth.

These animals prey upon
other mollusks and are very
destructive to clams and oys-
ters. The mouth is at the ex-
m^ £«fV"^f/>ii, tremity of a proboscis, and is

^^. armed with a ribbon-like

tongue covered with rasping
teeth. In eating, the end of
the proboscis is applied to the
victim's body, and the flesh
rasped off by vigorous sweeps
of the ribbon-tongue.

The egg cocoons of our
whelks are often seen cast up
upon the beaches, and resemble
a row of yellowish colored
checkers fastened upon a cord. Each checker is in reality a tough,
disk-shaped capsule containing about two dozen eggs or young
whelks. According to Coues, when forming the capsules the female
lies buried a few inches beneath the sand and remains stationary
during the process. The string of capsules is slowly thrust upward,
and when completed lies exposed upon the surface. The string
begins as a simple thread, without capsules, and the first few cap-
sules are small and imperfect but soon increase in size, being most
perfect at the middle of the string. There is a thin spot at the mid-
dle of the outer edge of each capsule and through this the young
break their way. The capsules of the Knobbed Whelk are smooth
sided disks, but their narrow edges are crossed by sharp ridges.
Those of the Channelled Whelk are thinner with a thin, sharp outer
edge, while the broad sides of the disks show radiating ridges.

Fig. joi,

Right: KNOBBED WHELK.
Left: CHANNELLED WHELK.

Belotv: Egg cocoons of the Chan-
nelled Whelk.

MOLLUSKS

143

These capsules are produced in spring and summer, but newly laid
ones are also abundant in Long Island Sound during September.

Formerly the
Indians used
these shells for
the manufacture
of their white
wampum.

From Cape
Ilatteras to Cuba
we find still an-

Fig. 102; English Whelk and its Egg Cocoons. other whelk

fFulgur perversa), which resembles the Knobbed Whelk, but it is
streaked longitudinally with dull, purple-brown, and its shell is
coiled in a left-handed spiral.

The English Whelk, {Buccinuin undatiun, Fi<j. I02j,is a com-
mon sea snail in shallow water north of Cape Cod. It ranges, how-
ever, from Cape Ilatteras to the Arctic Ocean, and is also found on

ftg. <)4; HORSE MUSSEL, OR BEARDED MUSSEL. From life. A

scale-limpet (Patella tesluditialts), and seven egg cocoons of the

Rock Snail (Purpura lapillus) are seen upon the right hand

shell. Cape Ann, Massachusetts.

the northern coasts of Europe. On the Maine coast it is found at
low tide level, but south of Cape Cod it lives in deep water, having
been taken from a depth of 3,900 feet.

144

SEA-SHORE LIFE

The shell grows to be about three inches long, and is marked
with revolving ridges and transverse furrows, and its outer surface
is covered with a velvety brown skin. It is carniverous and readily
feeds upon dead animals.

During the summer its egg cocoons are often found attached
to rocks l)elow low tide level. They consist of a mass of rounded

/r,-^. 7oj; Rock Snails (Purpura lapillus) devouring barnacles upon a rock at Annisquam, Mass.

capsules, yellow in color, all joined at their bases into a hemispher-
ical mass. They are popularly and aptly termed "sea corn." Each
capsule contains a number of eggs, but only a few develop, the
more vigorous young devouring the weaker before hatching.

In England this snail is sold in the markets, but with us it is
neglected. The lip of the shell is very apt to be broken in large
specimens.

The Rock Snail, {Purpura lapillus, Fig. 103). This snail

Fig. 104; TEN-RIBBED SNAIL. Massachusetts Bay.

MpLLUSKS 145

literally covers the rocks on many parts of the New England coast
north of Cape Cod. It is most abundant between tides, where the
rocks are covered
with barnacles up-
on which it feeds.
It ranges from
Montauk P o i n t,
Long Island, to
the Arctic Ocean,
and is abundant
on the European
coasts as far south
as Portugal. Witli
us it grows to
be about one and
one-lialf inches
long but becomes larger on the northern coasts of Europe.

It is very variable in form and color. Some individuals are
quite smooth while others are ringed Avith deep ridges, or have
rough, scale-covered shells. Some are dark brown, others white,
gray, yellow, dull orange or ringed with combinations of these col-
ors. The snails which live upon insolated rocks far off the coast,
exposed to the full force of the ocean, are small, and are dark gra)'^
in color with dull yellowish bands. Those living on the rocks of
protected shores are more variable, both in form and color.

The eggs are laid during the summer in little spindle-shaped
yellow capsules which resemble minute ten pins set up on their
pointed ends. They are placed on the nnder sides of rocks, or on
dead shells. (Fig. ^94).

A closely related species (Purpura patulaj from the Mediter-
ranean Avas used to make the Tyrian purple dye used by the Ro-
mans for their ceremonial togas. The snails were pounded in a
mortar and mixed with water and soda. After a few hours the liquid
changes from yellow to deep purple, and may then be used to dye
wool or cloth.

The Ten-Ribbed SnaU, fChrysodomus decemcostatus, Fig. 104 J,
becomes fully three inches in length. It is yellow-brown in color,
and displays ten whorled ridges. It is found off the New England

146

SEA-SHORE LIFE

Fig. 105; OYSTER DRILL.

Long Island Sound.

coast north of Cape Cod, and occnrs just below Ioav tide level on the
Maine shore, although it is usually found in deeper water. When

empty it is a favorite shell with hermit crabs,
and is often dragged long distances from its
true habitat.

The Oyster -Drill, fUrosalpi7ix cinerea,
Fig. 105 J, is a destructive little snail, common
in shallow water on stony bottoms down to
about sixty feet in dei^th; and while it ranges
from Florida to Nova Scotia, it is rare and
local north of Cape Cod.

It is most abundant in Chesapeake Bay and Long Island Sound.
The shell is less than one inch long, and the lip is extended out in
a projecting snout that serves to protect the siphon of the animal.
It is dull brownish-gray, and there are numerous rough, raised,
whorls and longitudinal ridges over the shell. The egg cocoons are
laid during summer on the under sui'face of dead shells or stones,
and are spindle-shaped, resembling little yellow vases made out of
parchment. The stems of these little vases are very short, and angu-
lar ridges extend along their sides.

This snail is one of the worst enemies of small oysters and other
bivalves. It rasps a small round hole through the shell by means of
the sharp, horny teeth of its tongue, aided
possibly by the secretion of sulphuric acid.
Then having penetrated the shell it sucks the
contents out at leisure. Next to the starfish
there is probably no worse enemy of the oys-
ter than this snail, and its popular name of
oyster-drill is well earned. It attacks its vic-
tims throughout the year, but fortunately it
is unable to drill through the shells of full
grown clams and oysters.

Large numbers of little clam shells that
have been drilled by this pest are always to
be seen cast up upon our beaches.

The Mud-Flat Snail, (Nassa obsoleta,
Fig. 106 J, is a small snail ranging from

Tampa, Florida, to Nova Scotia. It is rare north of Cape Cod, but is
most abundant on the mud flats of Long Island Sound, which it
literally covers over wide areas.

Fig. 106; Above: NASSA

TRIVITTATA.
Below: NASSA OBSOLE-
TA. Long- Island Sound.

MOLLUSKS

147

Fig. 1 07,

Periwinkles clustering upon a rock at
Annisquam, Mass.

The spire of the shell is blunt, and in old individuals its apex
is apt to be broken off. The surface of the shell is covered with
seaweed and mud, but
Avhen cleaned it is seen
to be black, with a shin-
ing black interior. This
snail drills holes through
the shells of other mol-
lusks and devours them.
It is, however, preyed
upon by young hermit
crabs, that occupy the
shells after devouring
the mollusk itself.

The Sand-Flat Snail,
(Ncussatrivittata, Fig. 106),
can be distinguished
from Nassci ohsoleta by
its sharp spire, angular suture and regularly granular surface. The
shell is five-eighths of an inch long, and two sharp-pointed fleshy
processes arise from the posterior end of the foot giving the impres-
sion of a pair of tails. There is a pair of long,
slender tentacles on the head, and half way up
on the side of each there is an eye. The siphon
tube is long and curved upward, while the pro-
boscis is even longer and extends forward as
a flexible tube. The snail applies this proboscis
to the surface of other snail shells, bores through
by means of its rasping leeth, and then devours
the soft parts of the prey. Xassa trivittata
appears to feed upon every species of mollusk through whose shell
it is capable of boring, and will readily attack individuals of its
own species.

It is found from eastern Florida to Nova Scotia, and is most
abundant upon sand flats in Long Island Sound, and on the Massa-
chusetts coast north of Cape Cod. It is also found on muddy or
stony bottoms and extends into water about 240 feet deep. When
the tide goes out it crawls slowly over the moist sand leaving a tortu-

Fig. loS; PERIWINKLE.

From life.

148 SEA-SHORE LIFE

ous trail, and when the beach begijis to dry it burrows beneath the
surface head downward, but comes to rest with the aperture of the

shell toward the surface.

The Salt-Marsh Snail, fMelanipus

• ^^L hidentatusj, is the most abundant snail

n^^^ upon the stems of salt marsh grasses
^^^^v near high tide mark. It ranges from
Florida to Cape Cod, and is very com-
mon along the coasts of Long Island

Fig. log; Right: I'ERIWINKLE. . -^ TpTSPV

£^//.- SEAWEED SNAIL. ailCl i\ CW J CI SCy.

It is a little brown-colored snail of
about the size and shape of a coffee berry. The aperture is narrow
and elongate, the spire short and blunt, and the forward end of the
shell tapers to a blunt point. Some varieties are banded with light
and dark brown, while others are plain in color. This snail devours
vegetable matter, and is itself preyed upon by minnows, crabs, and
numerous sea birds.

The Periwinkle, fLittorina Uttorea, Figs. 107-109, 111). This
snail was probably introduced from the northern coasts of Europe
or from Labrador. It is extremely abundant on the rocky shores of
England, and is sold in market to the poor in large cities. After
being boiled the animal is removed from the shell by a bent pin.
In flavor it resembles a clam but is more delicate.

The snail Avas first observed on our shores at the Gulf of St.
Lawrence in 1855. In 1871 it had reached the New Hampshire
coast, and has slowly spread southward arriving at Salem, Massa-
chusetts, in 1872, Woods Holl, Massachusetts, in 1875, New Haven
in 1880, and at present it is found even at the western end of
Long Island Sound. Wherever it has appeared it has become
the most abundant sea-snail within two or three years. On the
New England coast it covers the rocks and seaweed between tide
limits, and Professor Bumpus gathered more than 2500 of them
from a small depression in the rocks at Seaconnet near the mouth
of Buzzard's Bay. The shell is thick, heavy, and dark brown,
about five-eighths of an inch long, and the spire, although short,
is sharp-pointed. The body-whorl is large and the outer edge of
the lip is sharp and black in color Avhile its inner (columella) side
is faint purple-white. The shell is whorled with numerous shallow

MOLLUSKS 149

furrows. It can remain out of water for hours at a time without
suffering any apparent inconvenience. When the tide comes in,
however, it crawls slowly about feeding upon vegetable matter.
The foot is black and the head is provided with two sharp-pointed
tentacles with eyes on their outer sides near their bases.

The Seaweed Snail, (Littorina palliata, Fig. 109 J, ranges from
New Jersey to Nova Scotia, and is common upon sea weeds between
tide limits. The surface of the shell is smooth and is variable in
color, being either olive, yellow, or brown, red or mottled, but usu-
ally closely approaching the color of the seaweed upon which it
lives. The spire is blunter than in Littorina Uttorea.

TJie Floating Snail, (Jantli'ma fragilis, Fig. 110). This beau-
tiful snail is found floating upon the Gulf Stream, and off the
Florida coast and West Indies in the spring, but it is occasionally
cast Tip upon our shore by southerly
gales. The shell is blunt and about one
and a half inches in w^idth, and is of a
beautiful purple-blue color, lighter over
the spire than at the base of the body
whorl. It is almost as thin as paper, and
is usiially broken l)y the surf in being
washed ashore. A gelatinous substance
is secreted by a gland in the foot of the
animal, and this becomes filled with air
bubbles and hardens to form a veritable
raft that floats the snail. The female
even deposits her eggs in spindle-like ^'^ "°' floating snail.

^ °° , 1 Tortugas, Florida.

capsules on the under side of this raft,

the youngest eggs being nearest the body of the snail, and the old-
est on the outer end of the raft. The feathery gills project beyond
the lip of the shell, and there are four tentacles upon the head.
While the float remains attached it is impossible for the snail to
sink, but it may apparently be cast off at will. When pressed the
snail exudes a blue-violet fluid.

The Boat Shells, (Crepidula). These are often called "deck-
ers" or "slipper limpets." They are degenerate, scale-like snails,
and when full grown either remain fastened permanently to one
spot or move very slowly. Those species that become fast to one

150

SEA-SHORE LIFE

spot fit closely over the stone or dead shell to which they are
attached, the attachment being made very secure by a stony cement

that is secreted by the
foot. The eggs are laid
in ronnd capsules
which are attached to
a minute cord in grape-
like clusters. Each
little capsule contains
a large number of eggs
floating in a nutrient
jelly. From two to
twenty thousand eggs
are laid, and are fast-
ened to the ground by
the side of the animal
so as to be covered by
the shell itself. The l)reeding season extends from early summer
until about August loth. Our species range from the West Indies
to Nova Scotia, and are very comuKjn in Long Island Sound.

Crepidula fornlcata (Fig. 112 J, the largest species, is found
attached to horse-shoe crabs, and also to stones and dead shells. A
succession of individuals being often seen fastened one to the shell
of the other with the last shell in the line fastened to a stone or

I^tg. in; Eel Grass, at low tide, covered with Periwinkles.
Annisquam, Mass.

Ftjr. 112; DECKER SHELL. Long Island Sound.

Other firm anchorage. In these strings of shells the heads are
usually pointed all in the same direction. The young hatch as

MOLLUSKS 151

free-swimming veliger larvte, but after two or three weeks they
settle down as young boat-shells. Until they are about half grown
they can move slowly, but finally they become fixed for the remain-
der of their lives. The males are smaller and more active than the
females, but they also lose all power of locomotion when more than
half grow^n. This species may be recognized by its decidedly con-
vex shell, gray, horny color, and faint reddish-brown flecks over
the surface of the shell.

Crepidida plana is a small, flat, white species which lives
within shells that are being carried about by hermit crabs. The
head end of the crepidula almost always faces the opening of the
shell within which it lives. Its breeding habits are similar to
those of C. fornieata.

Crepidula eonvexa is the smallest of our species, and its shells
are dark brown in color, and more convex than either of the others.
It lives on the outside of shells, being carried about by hermit
crabs. It can move to a limited extent throughout life, and the
young hatch as little snails, and do not pass through a free-swim-
ming veliger stage.

A most thorough account of the development and life history
of our species of Crepidula is given by E. G. Conklin in the
"American Journal of Morphology," Vol. XIII, Part 1, 1897.

THE NAKED MOLLUSKS OR SEA SLUGS.

Niidihranchiata.

These are slug-like in general appearance but are not to be con-
fused with land slugs. They have a flat creeping foot, and no shell
when adult, although one is jDresent in the young, indicating that
they have descended from sea snails. However, the shell and
operculum which are found in the young larvae are cast off very
early in development.

The mouth is on the lower side of the front end of the body,
and the intestine usually giv^es off branched canals which ramify
through the body. The vent is either upon the middle line of the
back or upon the right side. When found upon the mid-dorsal
line it is usually surrounded by branching gills wliich are often
highly colored and resemble a beautiful flower. These gills are,

152 SEA-SHORE LIFE

however, not derived from the plumed gills of other snails, but are
a new formation found only among the Nudihranchiata. The back
is apt to be covered with finger-shaped processes which proba-
bly function in respiration, and the head is provided with eyes
and tentacles.

These most interesting little snails match their surroundings
to a wonderful degree of perfection, their ragged- looking backs and
mottled color giving the impression of a piece of torn seaweed.
They crawl upon sea weeds or stones, but can also swim foot up-
wards along the surface of the sea.

jEoUs papillosa is the commonest species under stones or upon
sea weeds in shallow water off our north Atlantic coast, and the
shores of Europe. It grows to be about three inches long, but spe-
cimens over an inch in length are rare. It is very variable in
color, being fawn, gray, or yellowish sprinkled with large dots of
white, olive, brown, purple or yellow. The body is square in front
but tapers to a point behind. There are two pairs of tentacles
upon the head, and numerous rows of papillae, down both sides, the
middle of the back being bare. The eggs are laid in a white gela-
tinous cord, festooned and coiled in a spiral, and deposited upon
stones. A good figure and description of this creature is given by
Gould and Binney. "Invertebrates of Massachusetts," p. 238.
Plate XVIII. Figs. 257-263. Curiously enough the skin of this
creature is provided with stinging thread-cells similar to those of
jelly-fishes and sea anemones. It is probable, however, that these
thread cells may have been obtained from sea anemones upon which
the mollusk has fed.

AncAiJa sulphiirea is a pale yellow species commonly found on
rocky bottoms off the New England coast north of Cape Cod ; being
very abundant in water about 200 feet deep.

THE SQUID, OCTOPUS AND NAUTILUS.

Cephalopoda.

These are the most highly developed mollusks, and when one
observes their remarkably rapid movements, their acute senses, and
the complexity of tlieir entire organization, it is difficult to convince
one's self that their nearest living relatives are snails and clams.

They are all carniverous, and prey iipon fishes, crustacea and
other mollusks which they capture by darting backward, seizing

MOLLUSKS

153

the victims in their sucker-bearing arms, and crushing the prey in
their sharp, parrot-like beaks.

Nothing in nature is more gruesome and hideous than the
sinuous writhing of these creatures, or more strangely fascinating
than the wonderful play of varied colors over their soft, pulsating
bodies, this movement contrasted all the time with the cruel, stony
stare of their expressionless ej'es.

The octopus often takes up its abode within some rocky crev-
ice, and lies safely hidden in the shadow, at the same time similat-
ing the color of its surroundings so that its victims do not perceive

^.B.JuoY

fig. 113; OCTOPUS AMERICANUS. From a painting made at Tortugas, Fla.,

by Herbert B. Judy.

their danger until grasped by the suckers of the long, muscular
arms. This habit of seeking caverns is well known to the Japan-
ese, who capture the octopus for the market by simply sinking
earthenware urns over night, and then drawing them up in the
morning, when some of them are found to be occupied by these
repulsive creatures.

Despite their generally musky odor octopi and squids are eaten

154 SEA-SHORE LIFE

ill France, Italy and Japan. They are also preyed upon hy sea
lions and sperm whales.

In the octopi there are eight, and in the squids and sepia ten
long, flexible arms that surround the mouth, and in many species
the rims of the suckers are beset with hooks, thus increasing the
tenaciousness of their grasp. A careful study has shown that these
arms are derived from what was once the fore part of the foot in
the ancestral mollusk, from Avhich the Cej^halopoda are descended.
The mouth is provided with a pair of powerful, parrot-like beaks,
while the tongue is beset with sharp, rasping teeth. In all forms
the teeth and jaws are horny, but in Nautilus the beaks are coated
externally with calcareous matter.

The chambered nautilus of the tropical Pacific and Indian
Ocean is the only living species whose shell is wholly external.
This graceful shell is composed of a series of chambers filled with
gas, and coiled in the form of a regular spiral. These chambers
are separated one from another by shelly partitions, but each par-
tition is pierced at its centre to allow of the passage of a tabe called
the siphuncle, which runs through the compartments, and is
attached to the back of the body of the nautilus. The animal itself
lives in the largest and last formed chamber, into which it can
almost completely withdraw its head and tentacles.

The spinda of the tropical Atlantic and Pacific has also a
chambered cell, luit this is largely covered by the mantle, and is
small in comparison with the size of the animal, and curiously
enough the shell of spirula is coiled in a manner opposite to that
of nautilus, These graceful cream-colored little spirals are found
cast up upon the sands of every coral island, but the living animal
is exceedingly rare, and almost nothing is known concerning its
habits.

In the squids the shell is also internal and imbedded in the
mantle, and is reduced to a mere remnant popularly called the
"pen," in allusion to its peculiar shape, while in the octojnis the
shell has disappeared entirely in the adult animal.

The so-called shell of the paper nautilus or Argonanta is not
to be compared with the shell of other mollusks, for it is merely a
shell-shaped capsule secreted by broad, flat expansions of two of the
arms. Its resemblance to a shell is merely accidental, and it serves

MOLLUSKS 155

only as a pouch to contain the eggs while they are being carried
about by the female. When first taken from the water it is soft and
flexible, but soon hardens and becomes very brittle in the air. When
much disturbed the female may cast it off, and it is never developed
by the male argonaut.

In all forms excepting the chambered nautilus the body is
cone-shaped or dome-like, and is enclosed in a mantle which is at-
tach.ed along the back, and hangs freely around the body, encasing
it as a bag on the sides. The head and tentacles project beyond the
mouth of the mantle-bag, as does also the siphon. This siphon is a
tube which is developed on the side of the head, and is open at both
ends. In the adult nautilus and in all embryonic Cephalopods this
siphon is composed of two side flaps whose edges fold together to
form a tube, but in all adult cephalopods, excepting nautilus, the
edges fuse forming a solid- walled tube.

When the mantle-bag expands, water is drawn in through the
slit between the body and mantle on both sides of the neck. If the
animal be quietly breathing, the water is forced out through the
same slit by the contraction of the mantle, biit if the cephalopod
desires to move, the free edge of the mantle-bag becomes hooked to
the outer wall of the siphon, thus closing the neck-slit so that the
water is driven forcil^ly out through the tube of the siphon. This
siphon tube usually projects forward, and the concentrated stream of
water rushing out of it forces the animal backward Avith great
rapidity. The siphon can, however, at times be directed backward,
thus driving the animal forward, but this is so rarely done that it
can not be called the usua^ manner of progression.

A careful study of the subject has convinced naturalists that
the siphon has been derived from what was the middle part of the
foot, in the extinct mollusks from which the Cephalopods have de-
scended.

The so-called "side fins" and "tail" of the squid are mere
expansions of the mantle. It is interesting to observe that the so-
called tail fin is not at the posterior end of the body but at the
highest point of the back of the animal. The sucker bearing arms
being derived from the fore part, and the siphon from the middle
part of the foot, while the conical body has been elongated dorsal-
wards. These things can, however, only be fully comprehended

156 SEA-SHORE LIFE

through careful study, and the only point we should remember is
that it is not quite correct to say that the squid "swims backward"
but that it swims with the middle point of its back directed forward.

Feathered gills arise from the body, and project into the cavity
of the mantle-bag, so that they are bathed by the water that comes
in through the slit-like opening between the mantle and the sides of
the neck. In nautilus there are four, whereas in all other cephalo-
pods there are only two gills. In common with other mollusks the
heart pumps blood from the gills to other parts of the body.

The kidneys, genital organs, and alimentary tract also open into
the cavity of the mantle-bag and their products are discharged with
the waste water through the siphon.

The ink bag is a peculiar organ that is found in all forms ex-
cepting nautilus. Its duct opens into the intestine near the vent,
and when the animal becomes excited or alarmed the inky fluid is
discharged through the siphon thus darkening the Avater and ena-
bling the animal to bewilder its prey, or to itself escape from danger.
Both india ink and sepia are made from the fluid of the ink bags of
cuttle fishes.

The nervous system is far better developed than in snails and
other mollusks. The brain is large and is protected by a sheath of
cartilage, while the eyes bear a close but only accidental resemblance
to those of vertebrates. In nautilus, however, the eye is a mere cujd-
shaped cavity, the bottom and sides of the cup being lined with
sensory cells constituting the retina; but in all other cephalopods
the eye is much more complex. On the outside we see the glassy
cornea or window of the eye, and close behind it lies the iris with
its circular or slit-like aperture of the pupil. The lens is large and
spherical and lies back of the iris, almost fdlingthe cup-like cavity
of the eye which is elsewhere filled with a transparent fluid. The
retina lining the cavity of the eye is not turned inside out a^ in the
case of vertebrates, but receives the light directly. There are two
ear-like organs on the side of the head, which enable the animal
not only to hear, but also to maintain its equilibrium in the water.

The wonderful color changes of the Cephalopods have caused
them to be described as " chameleons of the sea." Immediately un-
der the skin there are large numbers of little pigment cells with
muscular walls. When the walls contract each pigment cell is re-

MOLLUSKS

157

duced to a mere dot and is practically invisible, hut when the walls
expand the cell enlarges to fully twenty-five times its former area,
and the sudden enlargement of thousands of these little pigment
cells, or chromatophores, as they are called, produces a flash of color.
There are several sets of these chromatophores, some rosin colored,
others yellow, blue-green or brown. Each set may expand inde-
pendently or in combination Avith the others and thus a varied play
of color is produced.

In Cephalopods the sexes are separate, the male being often
much smaller than the female. In some forms, such as the paper
nautilus, one of the
arms of the male un-
dergoes a curious
transformation. It
develops within a
large sac which
bursts leaving a part
of the sides of the
sac still attached to
the arm. The male
then places a packet
of sperinatoza upon
the arm, and after
seizing the female
the arm breaks off.
and becomes at-
tached to her body within the mantle cavity, thus conveying the
spermatoza for the fertilization of the eggs. The eggs are usually
laid enclosed in gelatinous capsules and the development is direct
without any free swimming larval stage such as is characteristic of
other mollusks.

A good general account of Cephalopods is given by Professor
J. S. Kingsley in the "Riverside Natural History," Vol. I.

The Chambered Nautilus, f Nautilus pompilius, Fig. 114).
This most interesting creature is found in the western parts of the
tropical Pacific, and in the Indian Ocean. It lives upon the bottom,
and is not usually found in water less than 100 feet deep, being
most abundant at a depth of about 1000 feet. Contrary to popular

Fig. 114: THE CH.A.MBKHEI), OR PEARLY NAUTILUS.
From the Tropical Pacitic

158 SEA-SHORE LIFE

belief it never swims at the surface. The chambers of the shell,
the construction of which we hav^e already mentioned, are filled
with gas, this being a mixture of oxygen and nitrogen resemb-
ling ordinary air, but being richer in nitrogen. This gas prob-
ably serves to increase the buoyancy of the shell, so as to
enable the animal to move more rapidly. The animal itself is
confined to the outermost and largest chamber of the shell. The
mouth is provided with a pair of parrot-like beaks composed of a
black, horny substance, coated on the outside with shelly matter.
There are about 90 tentacles around the mouth. These have poorly
developed suckers, and can be retracted each into its own special
sheath. The sheaths of two of these tentacles are fused into a
broad, flat plate called the hood, that serves to partially close the
aperture of the shell when the animal retracts. This hood lies on
the back of the head, while on the lower side we find a tube made
of two side folds which overlap. This is the "siphon" or fun-
nel through which water is expelled, driving the animal back-
ward. In this manner it swims through the water near the bottom,
gliding along with the aperture of the shell turned upwards and
the tentacles held close together and trailing out horizontally. The
writer was informed by natives of the Paumotu Islands, however,
that the nautilus also crawls over the bottom, and often buries itself
beneath the sand.

In the Philippine Islands the nautilus is captured in traps
somewhat similar in construction to our lobster-pots, the bait used
being pieces of chicken or even dead dogs and cats. The animal
is eaten in these islands but is not highly esteemed, and a better
price is now obtained for the shell, which is used in China for the
manufacture of pearl buttons.

The tentacles and funnel-tube are oiDaque-white, while the
hood is speckled with brown and yellow spots. There is a simple,
pit-like eye mounted on a short stalk on either side of the head, and
this is so placed that it can obtain a view of the surroundings even
when the creature is almost completely retracted, and the aperture
of the shell all but closed by the hood. The shell of the nautilus
is smooth and white and marked with bands of reddish-brown,
while the inner side of the aperture "is marked with jet-black where
the mantle fold is applied to the shell. The partitions of the cham-

MOLLUSKS 159

bers and the whole interior of the shell are lined with pearly nacre,
having a lustre only slighty inferior to that of the pearl oyster.

The nautilus is one of the most interesting of living animals,
for it is the sole survivor of a once numerous race, great numbers
of which swam in the pcean during Silurian times. The oldest
forms are apt to have straight shells, but later we find them for the
most part coiled, while during the last ages of their decline they
sometimes uncoiled to a greater or less degree, or assumed strange
contorted shapes. Some were five or six feet in length, and one
species must have weighed several tons.

Associated with the nautilus race was another great group
called the Ammonites in which the margins of the partitions separ-
ating the chambers of the shell were complexly folded. Their shells
were also highly ornamented with ridges and projections and the
siphuncle was small and did not usually pass through the centre
of the partitions, but ran through the edges close to the wall of the
shell. More than 5000 species of Ammunites and 2500 of the nau-
tilus race lived in these ancient times. The Ammonites died out
completely in the age of the chalk, while the nautilus race declined
slowly, until to-day we find its last representatives still living in
the depths of the tropical Pacific. Three or four species of Nauti-
lus are found in the tropical Pacific, the best known being Nautilus
pompilius.

THE SQUIDS, OR SEA-ARROWS.

Several species of squids occur along our coast. Their bodies
are spindle-shaped, tapering to a point behind. Avhile the fin resem-
bles in outline an arrow or spear-head. The shell is degenerate,
and is reduced to a mere internal scale imbedded in the mantle and
called the "pen" in allusion to its shape. Ten arms surround the
mouth. Eight of these are triangular in cross section, and are each
furnished with two rows of suckers on their inner sides. The
fourth pair of arms are, however, much longer than the others,
and have suckers only upon their expanded tips where we find four
rows of these organs of adhesion. The eyes are large, have no lids,
and the pupil is a round opening.

Squids usually swim backward, being propelled in a series of
rapid darts by the water which is sucked in through the mantle-

160

SEA-SHORE LIFE

slit on the sides of the neck, and discharged through the siphon
which jD rejects outward from the mantle-cavity under the head.
Occasionally, however, the siphon is turned backward, thus caus-

Fig. 115; BLUNT-TAILED SQUID. New Jersey Coast.

iiig the animal to dart forward, but this method of progression
is rare in comparison with the backward darting. They can
also swim slowly forward when propelled by movements of the
fin. Sqiiids feed upon small fishes, Crustacea, and even the
young of their own species, and they are themselves devoured by
numerous fishes, the sperm whale and seals. In killing a small
fish they bite a piece out of the back of the neck. They capture
their prey by darting rajDidly backward, swinging quickly to one
side and seizing the victim in their sucker-bearing arms.

Very commonly they become stranded in their backward dart-
ing flight, and then thrash helplessly upon the shore, forcing water
out through the siphon and ejecting their jet-black ink. The
shores of Maine are often strewn with squids that have perished in
this manner, this being especially noticeable after moonlight
nights. Indeed, the fishermen take advantage of the attraction
squids display for light by placing a beacon in the bow of their
boats and slowly rowing ashore, thus stranding the congregated
animals.

They often swim in schools, especially during spring and early
summer. During some years the water fairly teems with them,
and then again none will be seen for long periods of time. As they
dart through the ocean their color changes instantly to match their

MOLLUSKS 161

surroundings, while at times flushes of steely-blue, purple, reddish
or yellow flash over the body as the creature swims.

These changes of color are produced by the contraction and
expansion of several sets of pigment cells beneath the skin. For
example, — when the reddish-brown set contracts, the brown color
is so reduced that it almost disappears, whereas the expansion of
these pigment cells instantly tinges the whole surface.

Although these creatures are biit rarely sold in market, their
flesh being little esteemed as food, more than 1,000,000 pounds of
squids valued at about $1J:,500 are taken annually upon the Massa-
chusetts coast, to be used in the cod fishery, and about one-half of
the bait used upon the banks of Newfoundland consists of squids.

Squids lay their eggs upon weedy bottoms throughout the
summer, the eggs being contained in clusters of gelatinous finger-
shaped capsules, each capsule holding a large number. These
clusters are often five or six inches in diameter and are known to
tiie fishermen as "sea-grapes."

The Blunt-Tailed Squid, (Lal'ujo pcalii. Fig 115 J. This is the
common squid from the Carolinas to Cape Cod. North of this point
it is rare, and it does not extend beyond Cape Ann, Massachusetts.
It becomes about a foot in length, and is usually speckled with
rusty-brown or purplish color, although its color constantly changes
in intensity. The fin is large, obtusely rounded on the outer
edges, and about as broad as it is long. A closely allied pale
translucent variety called Loligo pealii var. pallida is most abund-
ant in Long Island Sound.

The Short-Tailed Squid, {Om mast replies illecebrosiis). This is
the common squid of the New England coast north of Cape Cod,
and is most extensively used as bait in the cod fishery. The fin is
one-third broader than it is long, and its outer edges form nearly a
right angle.

The Giant Squid, ( Areliiteuthis princeps, Fkj. 116 J. This is the
largest living invertebrate, and the sudden appearance of its
writhing arms upon the ocean has probably given rise to stories of
the sea serpent. It has been seen but rarely, and then always
upon the Grand Banks or ofP the coast of Newfoundland. Alto-
gether not more than thirty specimens have been found, and the
majority of these were badly damaged. The arms are as thick as a

162

SEA-SHORE LIFE

man's leg and their suckers as large as tea-cups. One obtained
in 1877 had a body nine and a half feet long and seven feet in

Ftg. ii6; GIANT SQtUD of the Newfoundland Banks. From a painting
by Herbert B. Judy.

girth, the arms being thirty feet long. It was exhibited at the old
New York Aquarium and afterwards in other places, but untor-

MOLLUSKS 163

tanately it is now lost. Tlie largest ever seen was stranded — while
yet alive — on the coast of Newfoundland, and was cut up for dog
meat by the fishermen who captured it. Its body was said to have
been twenty feet and the tentacles thirty-five feet in length. The
fabulous Krakenoi the Norsemen was probably a giant squid In
their old sea-tales we read of its devouring ships, and indeed it is
well established that large squids have at times attacked fisher-
men's boats.

In every respect, excepting size, these monsters resemble the
little short-tailed squid of the New England coast. Nothing is
known of the habits of the giant squid, although it probably lives
in deep water off the Banks and only occasionally comes to the sur-
face at night Powerful as these monsters are, thoy are greedily
devoured by the sperm whale.

The American Devil-Fish, (Octopus americmms, Fig. 113 J.
This creature is found upon the coral reefs of Florida and the
West Indies, where it lives within rocky crevices, the color of which
it exactly matches. Here it lies in wait for prey, and the floor and
entrance of its den are strewn with the broken shells of mollusks
and Crustacea that have fallen victims to the Octopus. It also
glides ghost-like over the sands, resembling the glistening white
bottom so completely that it is all but invisible. This gliding
movement is accomplished by opening and closing the umbrella-
like web that forms a span between the bases of the arms. At every
such pulsation the creature shoots backward, trailing its eight long
arms, which extend straight outward. The creature can also accom-
plish the same movement, or a side motion, by expelling the Avater
from its siphon tube, which usually projects out to one side from
the edge of the mantle. If grasped the writhing arms, with their
double rows of suckers, instantly seize upon the tormentor, and the
sharp, parrot-like beak inflicts a painful wound. Ink is also ejected
from the siphon, and a wonderful play of colors pass over the body,
flashing steely blue, green, brilliant white, rusty red or dull brown.
When removed from the water the creature thrashes about in hide-
ous contortions for a few minutes and then dies utterly exhausted.
The eyes are frog-like and prominent, with a slit-shaped pupil, and
the skin around them can be drawn together from all sides, form-
ing a veritable eye-lid. The body is soft and rounded and there

164

SEA-SHORE LIFE

are no tins, and no trace of a shell in the adult. When full grown
the arms are each about two feet long. In the male the third arm
on the right hand side is curiously modified for sexual purposes,
and is cast off and adheres to the female during the breeding
season.

Another species of Octopus, (0. hairdiij is found in deep water
off the New England coast, but it is not often met with. A good
figure of it taken from Verill is given in the " Riverside Natural
History," Vol. I, p. 371.

The Paper Nautilus, ( Argonauta, Fig. 117 J. Several closely
related species of Argoriauta are found in the tropical parts of the

Atlantic and Pacific
Oceans. Occasionally
the creatvire is drifted
northward upon the
Gulf Stream, and may
be cast up upon the
southern Long Island
coast. The female has
eight sucker-bearing
arms, which resemble
those of the Octopus,
excepting that the front
pair of arms end each
in a large, flat expan-
sion. These expanded
parts secrete a delicate capsule which bears an accidental resem-
blance to a beautifully-sculptured shell, although it is not compar-
able with the shell of other moliusks. It is not attached to the body,
and may be even cast off, and serves merely to contain the eggs dur-
ing the breeding season. These eggs are laid in grape-like clusters
enclosed in delicate capsules. The six tapering arms may also be
thrust within the cavity of the capsule while the Argonaut swims
backward, being propelled by jets of water from the siphon.

During the breeding season the females are found swimming
at the surface, but at other times they appear to live in the depths.
Beautiful colors play over the creature as it swims about, and the
shell, while in the water, is very soft and flexible.

•%^

•i

jSv '

;

m
^

Wmi

Fig. 117 ; PAPER NAUTILUS. From the Tropical Pacific.

MOLLUSKS 165

The male Argonaut is only about one-tenth as large as the
female, being about one inch in length. Previous to the breeding
season the third arm on the left side is seen to be developing inside
of a sac. Later this sac splits along on one side and turns inside out,
thus freeing the arm, which is then seen to be more than twice as
long as the ordinary arms of the animal, and to terminate in a long
pointed filament which was itself developed in a sack very much as
was the base of the arm. A number of long filamentous tubes con-
taining spermatozoa are placed within the cavity of the sac at the
base of the arm. At the breeding time the entire arm is cast ofF,
enters the mantle cavity of the female, and adheres to her l^ody.
The male Argonaut never develops a shell.

It is in the contemplation of creatures such as this that we
come to realize the hopelessness of any attempt to measure by our
puny standards the immensity of time that has elapsed since evo-
lution began to mold the manifold forms of life. How long may it
have been before such a remarkable contrivance as the shell-like
brood-pouch and such a curiously modified arm as that of the male
Argonaut could have been developed?

Altogether there is no more comprehensive picture of the
course of evolution than that furnished by the fossil shells of
Cephalopods. We see the straight-shelled Xautilus race that
swarmed in the ancient Silurian seas, when the whole western half
of New York State was submerged by an ocean continuous with
what is now the Pacific. Afterwards in Devonian times we find the
sculptured Ammonites appearing in a vast variety of forms. Then
the Nautilus race slowly faded away until to-day we find its last
lingering descendant living in the depths of the Pacific, while the
Ammonites, their shells coiling and uncoiling in writhing, snake-
like shapes, died out forever, while the Chalk cliffs of England were
yet beneath the sea.

Only the soft bodied squids and octopi which first appear in
Triassic seas, still survive in reduced numbers in the oceans of
to-day.

THE SEA-SQUIRTS,

Tunicates or Ascidians.

\ TTACHED to rocks, sea weeds or piles of wharves, one some-
^^^ times finds a globular or dome-like mass of tough, gelatinous
consistency, usually dull in color, and often covered with sand or
detritus. If the creature be touched it contracts, and a fine stream
of water is forced out of two openings that will be observed quite
dose together near the highest point of the dome-like body This
habit has led to their being commonly designated as "sea-squirts."
The older naturalists were inclined to believe that they were re-
lated to moUusks, but a study of their development showed con-
clusively that they are lowly organized and degenerate vertebrate-
like animals in which a flexible rod serves as a back-bone, although
it must be remembered that this rod is tough and gelatinous in con-
sistency— not bony. It is interesting to observe, however, that the
central part of the backbone of all vertebrates, from the lowest
fishes up to man, is at one time a flexible rod exactly similar in
origin and constitution to that of the tunicates. In higher forms,
however, this primitive rod becomes surrounded, and often
all but obliterated by a casing of cartilage or bone, thus greatly
increasing its efficiency as a support for the skeleton and muscles.

But to return to the tunicates; no one would have supposed
that these unattractive, almost shapeless creatures were primitive
vertebrates until their development was studied, and it was discov-
ered that the larva is free-swimming and resembles a tadpole in hav-
a large head and long, lash-like tail. Moreover, we find that
extending a short distance down the middle of the back immedi-
ately under the skin there is a nervous tube in every way compar-
able with the spinal cord of vertebrates, while parallel with, and
lying under this tube we find a flexible, rod-like structure that is
evidently similar to the central core of the back bone of all
vertebrates.

The head of the tunicate embryo is also interesting, for Ave
find on the dorsal side a single eye, and in front of this a primitive

TUNICATES 107

ear-like organ; and the remarkable fact is that the retina and lens
of the eye and the sensory part of the "ear" are derived from the
walls of the brain as is the case in vertebrates.

After swimming about for some time the tunicate tadpole usu-
ally settles down upon the bottom and fastens itself to a situation
from which it never departs. Under these conditions it finds
almost no need for sense organs or skeleton, and accordingly these
degenerate to such a degree that the eye disappears completely,
and the other structures are reduced to mere remnants.

I)iit all tunicates do not thus settle down and degenerate, for
some of them remain active throughout life, swimming rapidly
through the water. One of these free forms called Aypendlcularia
remains tadpole-like in shape throughout its existence, having a
pair of gill-slits, one on each side, and a long powerful tail which is
provided with a fin, and arises from the middle of the ventral side
of the body.

Many tunicates are solitary animals Avhile others produce
large colonies by budding, the older members of the colony giving
rise to the younger. In other forms such as Salpa, there is an alter-
nation of generations, one being produced from eggs and the fol-
lowing generation through budding.

A tunicate has been aptly compared to a leather bottle with
two spouts. The outer covering of the body is usually tough
in consistency and contains cellulose, the composition of which is
identical with the sul)stance that forms the walls of plant cells.

A moment's observation of the two funnel-shaped spouts will
show that water is constantly being drawn into one and forced out
from the other, and a further study shows that the water is drawn
in at the spout at the front end of the body, and passed out of the
opening upon the back of the animal. The intestine is U-shaped,
and the mouth is at the place where the water enters while the vent
is at the sj)out through which the water passes out.

The throat is a wide sac almost as long as the body itself, and
is piei-ced by so many little gill slits that its sides resemble a sieve.
The water enters the mouth, passes through these gill slits, and
finally out through the dorsal spout; the current being maintained
by the beating in unison of thousands of hair-like cilia which line
the gill slits.

168

SEA-SHORE LIFE

The minute animal and vegetable organisms that are drawn
in with the water do not pass through the gill slits, but are caught
in the slime that lines the throat and passed around, entangled in a
cord of slime, into the stomach.

The heart is a spindle-shaped tube lying under and near the
stomach. Curiously enougli it pimips blood in one direction for a
few moments, then rests, and piimps in the opposite direction.

The Ijlood corpuscles are
mainly colorless and con-
stantly change their shape re-
sembling amoebce. Some of
the blood corpuscles are, how-
ever, of definite shape and are
often deeply colored, being
reddish, indigo, brown or
even Avhite. It has been f oun d
that when bacteria or other
disease germs are introduced
into the blood system, the
colorless blood corpuscles
seize upon them, and attempt
to engulf them. Sometimes,
however, they do not succeed
but are themselves destroyed
in the attempt to digest the
bacteria, and then the disease
conquers in the strife.

The genital organs are
found close to the side of a
loop of the intestine, and their
duct opens at the dorsal spout. In common with many sedentary
and degenerate animals all tunicates are hermaphrodites, but the
same individual does not usually fertilize its own eggs.

The "brain" or principal ganglion of the Tunicate is situated
midway between the two spouts, and is simply the remnant of the
larval brain. It is, however, of so little importance that if it be
cut out the creature lives quite well, and is even capable of contract-
ing in a normal manner when touched. The "brainless" animal

Fig. !iS; CIOXA INTESTIXALIS. From
Woods Holl, Mass.

TU-NICATES 169

is, however, less sensitive, and its reactions are slower than in the
normal creature.

A good account of Tunicates, their development and relation-
shijDS, is given by Arthur Willey in "Amphioxus and the Ancestry
of the Vertebrates," 1894, and also by J. S. Kingsley in "The River-
side Natural History," Vol. III. Most valuable general treatises
upon the subject are also given by W. Herdman in "Report on the
Tunicata," in the Reports of the Voyage of H. M. S. "Challenger,"
Zoology, Vol. VI.; and by W. K. Brooks in "Salpa," Memoirs Johns
Hopkins University Laboratory, 1893. A valuable summary for
higher students is given by W. A. Herdman in The Cambridge
Natural History, Vol. VII., pp. 33-138, Macmillan & Co., 1901.

Cioiia intesfinalis (Fig. US J. This large sea-squirt is found
upon our shores, and is also abundant in the Mediterranean and on
the coast of England. It is found upon the under sides of stones or
upon the shady sides of wharf piles immediately below low tide level.

It grows to be four inches long and the body is slender, and is
of the shape of an urn with two spouts, one at the narrow end and
one at a short distance below the terminal opening. The terminal
opening is at the forward end of the animal, and serves as a mouth
for the admission of water and food ; while tlie lower aperture arises
from the back of the creature and serves to carry off the water which
has passed through the numerous gill slits of the huge throat, and
to conduct away the waste products of the body.

The animal is dull yellowish or greenish in color, and the aper-
tures are bordered with brilliant greenish-yellow. The body is trans-
lucent, and there are from twelve to fourteen powerful strands of
longitudinal muscle fibres which appear as opaque glistening lines.
If the animal be disturbed these longitudinal muscles contract rap-
idly, so that the creature shrinks into a shape even broader than long.

In common with all tunicates this creature is hermaphroditic
l)ut is practically incapable of fertilizing its own eggs. These are
discharged with clock-like regularity at one and one-half hours be-
fore sunrise by means of a series of violent contractions, and are
fertilized in the water by spermatozoa discharged from another
tunicate. The egg is covered with a membrane which rises into
papilla, giving it the appearance of a chestnut bur made of glass
and with a few blunt spines. It develops into a little tadpole-shaped

170

SEA-SHORE LIFE

larva witli large rounded head, and lash-like tail. The larva usually
breaks through the egg membrane and swims through the water,
avoiding the light. Soon, however, it settles down, and becomes
fast to the bottom by means of the adhesive slime of its body. Often
it becomes fastened by the tail, but occasionally by its head or some
other part of the body. The little creature then struggles vainly
to free itself for a time, but soon the tail becomes absorbed, the
nervous system degenerates and the animal becomes a Gwna, fixed
for life to one spot, and in its adult state no one would suppose
that it was in reality a vertebrate.

Molgula mcmhattensis, Fig. 119. This is found under stones,
etc., below low tide level from Maine to the Carolinas. The body

is aboiit one inch in diameter, rounded
in outline and usually covered more or
less with particles of sand and detritus.
In color it is dull olive green. Two
long tapering spouts project upward, the
uppermost being for the admission, and
the lower for the discharge of water
which passes through the gills. Alto-
gether the creature presents the appear-
ance of the Avater bottles made of skin,
such as are still used in the Orient, and
indeed the name ascidian signifies a
little water skin. The eggs are laid
a little before daybreak during the sum-
mer months, and the larva develop in a
few hours into little tadpoles within the egg membrane, and finally
change into fixed tunicates without being set free from the egg
membrane.

This species may often be seen in the New York Aquarium,
where colonies of volunteer growth attach themselves to the rocky
linings of the tanks, and attain full growth in about six weeks.

The Star-Spangled Jelly, (BotryUns gouldiij. This compound
ascidian ranges from New Jersey to Maine, and is very abundant
late in summer upon eel grass. It forms smooth, thick, gelatinous
expansions of various colors, such as gray-green, dull yellow, brown,
purple, or spotted with white. The whole surface appears as if

Fi,^. ii<); MOLGULA MANHAT-
TENSIS. Woods Holl, Mass.

TUNICATES 171

spangled with stars, outlined nsually in brighter color than the
general surface of the jelly-like mass. Careful examination shows
that each " star " is composed of a half dozen or more mouth open-
ings ranged around a central opening which serves as a common
vent. Water is drawn in through the mouth openings and dis-
charged through the vent together with waste products. The mi-
nute larvae are tadpole-like in appearance and swim toward the light.
Finally they become fastened by means of their slime to some solid
object, and if in a situation suitable for growth they develop into a
gelatinous expansion composed of numerous aggregated ascidians
all derived by a process of budding from the original larva.

In common with Molgnln, this species often colonizes in the
tanks of the New York Aquarium, the larvae being pumped in with
the sea-water from the harbor.

These references are, in so far as possible, to works in the English lan-
guage wherein one may find a more elaborate description than is possible in this
little book. They usually refer to the best published drawings, or figures, of the
several species. As a rule, the following references relate to species only. Refer-
ences to literature concerning families and orders will be found throughout the text.

JELLYFISHES AND HYDROIDS.

Portugese Man-of- War (Physalia are thusa)— Agassi z, L., Contributions to Nat. Hist,
of the U. S., Vol. IV, PI. 35. Haeckel E., Siphonophora? of the Challenger
Expedition, Challenger Reports, Zoology, Vol. XXVIII.
Porpita linnaeana— Agassiz, A., Memoirs Museum Comparative Zoology, Harvard,

Vol. VIII, No. 2.
Velella mutica— Agassiz, A., Memoirs Museum Comparative Zoology, Harvard,

Vol. VIII, No. 2.
Passion-flower Hydroid (Thamnocnidia spectabilis)— Agassiz, L., Contributions

to Nat. Hist, of the U. S., Vol. IV, PI. 22.
Eel-Grass Hydroid (Pennaria tiarella)— Arnold, C. K., Sea Beach at Ebb Tide, p. 124.

Hargitt, C. W., American Naturalist, Vol. XXXIV, p. 387, Pis. 1-4.
Sea Blubber (Gyanea arctica)— Agassiz, L., Contributions to Nat. Hist, of the U. S.,

Vol. Ill, PI. 3, 5, 10, 1860. Agassiz, E. C. and A., Sea-side Studies, p. 38.
Speckled Jellyfish (Dactylometra quinquecirra)— Agassiz and Mayer, Bull. Museum

Comparative Zoology, Harvard, Vol. XXXII, 1898.
Milky Disk (Aurelia flavidula)— Agassiz, E. C. and A., Sea-side Studies, p. 42.

Arnold, C. F., Sea Beach at Ebb Tide, p. 137. Agassiz, L., Contributions to

Nat. Hist, of the U. S., Vol. Ill, Pis. 6-llb, Vol. IV, pp. 10, 160.
Milky Cross (Staurophora laciniata)— Agassiz, L., Contributions to Nat. His. of

the U. S. Acalephffi North America, Part 1, PI. 7, 1849.
Thimble Jellyfish (Melicertum campanula)— Agassiz, E.C. audA., Sea-side Studies,

p. 63. Agassiz, A., North American Acalephse, p. 130.
Gonionemus murliachii— IMurbach, L., Journal of Morpholog^^ Vol. II, 1895. Yerkes

and Ayer, American Journal of Physiology, Vol. IX, p. 279. Perkins, H. F.,

Proceedings Academy Natural Science, Phila., Nov., 1902.
Sea-Plume Hydroid (Obelia, Exicope)— Agassiz, L., Contributions to Nat. Hist, of the

U. S., Vol. IV, PI. 33. Brooks, W. K., Handbook of Invertebrate Zoology, p. 31.

REFERENCES 173

Rainbow Jellyfish (Mnemiopsis leidyi) — Agassiz, A., North American Acalephae, p.
20, Figs. 22-24. Fewkes, J. W., Bull. ilus. Comparative Zoology, Harvard,
Vol. VIII, p. 173, 1881.

SEA ANEMONES AND CORALS.

Brown Anemone (Metridiiim marginafiunl— Agassiz, E. C. and A., Sea-side Studies,
p. 8. Parker, Ct. H., Bull. Musemn Comparative Zoology, Harvard, Vol.

XXXV, 1899.

Sand Anemone (Halcampa producta)— Verrill and Smith, Invertebrate Animals of

Vineyard Sound, PI. 38, Fig. 285.
Orange-streaked Anemone (Sagartia Incise)— Parker, G. H., Amer. Naturalist, Vol.

XXXVI, p. 491, 1002. Also, Davenport, Gertrtide C, Mark Anniversary
Volume, p. 137, 1903.

Atlantic Corals — Agassiz, L., Report on Florida Reefs, Jlemoirs Mus. Comparative
Zoology, Harvard, Vol. VIII, No. 1, 1880. Bemiuda— Verrill, A. E., Trans-
actions Conn. Academy of Sciences, Vol. XI, pp. 65-200. Porto Rico —
Vaixghan, T. W., Bull. C. S. Fish Comm., Vol. XX, Part 2, pp. 291-320.

Coral Atolls: Atlantic and Pacific— Dana, J. D., Coral Islands. Coral Islands—
Semper, C, Animal Life, International Scientific Series, Vol. XXX, 1881,
p. 230. Agassiz, A., BuU. and Memoirs Museum Comparative Zoolog}', Har-
vard, Bahamas, Bermuda, Australia, Fiji, Tropical Pacific, Maldives. Gardi-
ner, J. S., Geographical Journal, London, Vol. XIX, p. 277. Saville, Kent
W , The Great Barrier b'eef of Australia.

Star Coral (Asti-angia danae)— Agassiz, Sonrel, Fewkes, Nat. Hist. Illustrations,
Smithsonian Institution, Pul)lication 671, 1889.

Fleshy Coral (Alcyoneum carnexmi) — Agassiz, E. C. and A., Sea-side Studies, p. 20.

STARFISHES, SEA URCHINS AND SEA CUCUMBERS.

Common Starfish (Asterias forbesii and A. vulgaris) — Agassiz, A., Memoirs Mus.
Comparative Zoology, Harvard, Vol. V., No. 1, 1877. Mead, G. and A. D.,
Bull. U. S. Fish Comm., Vol. XIX, 1899.

Blood Star (Cribrella sanguinolenta)— Agassiz, A., North Am. Starfishes, Memoirs
Museum Comparative Zoology^ Harvard, Vol. V, No. 1, 1877.

Giant Starfish (Pentaceros reticulatus} — Agassiz, A., North Am. Starfishes, Memoirs
Museum Comparative Zoology, Harvard, Vol. V, No. 1, 1877.

Brittle Starfish (Ophiopholis aculeata) -Lyman, T., Catalogue Museiim Comparative
Zoology, Harvard, No. 1, p. 96, PI. 1, 1865. Agassiz, E. C. and A., Sea-
side Studies, p. 115.

Basket Starfish (Astrophyton agassizii) — Agassiz, E. C. and A., Sea-side Studies,
p. 117-120.

Sea Urchin, Purple (Arbacia punctulata) — Agassiz, A., Memoirs Mus. Comparative
Zoology, Harvard, Vol. Ill, PI. 2, Fig. 4. Brooks, W. K., Handbook of In-
vertebrate Anatomy, pp. 102-131. Fewkes, J. W., Memoirs of Peabody
Academy, 1881, Vol. I, No. 6. Loeb, J., Amer. Journal Physiolog}', Vol. IV,
p. 455, 1901.

174 SEA-SHORE LIFE

Sea Urchin, Green (Strongelocentrotus drobachiensis) — Agassiz, E. C. and A., Sea-
side Studies, p. 102.

Sea Cucumber, Brittle (Synapta inhaerens) — Clark, H. L., Bull. U. S. Fish Comm.,
Vol. XIV, 1899, pp. 21-31.

Sea Cucumber, Crimson (Cuvieria squamata)— Agassiz, E. C. and A., Sea-side
Studies, p. 98.

Sand Dollar (Echinarachnius parma) — Agassiz, E. C. and A., Sea-side Studies, p. 107.

WORMS.

Worm, Ribbon (Meek el iaingens) — Davenport, C. B. and G. C, Introduction to Zool-
ogy, p. 158.

Worm, Sea ]\Iouse (Aphrodite aculeata) — Arnold, A. F., Sea Beach at Ebb Tide,
p. 175.

Worm, Clam (Nereis)— Arnold, A. F., Sea Beach at Ebb Tide, pp. 176-177. Verrill
and Smith, Invertebrate Animals of Vineyard Sound, p. 317, PL 22. Wilson,
E. B., Annals N. Y. Academy of Sciences, Vol. XI, No. 1, pp. 1-27, 1898.

Worm, Opal ( Lumbriconereis opalina) — Verrill and Smith, Invertebrate Animals of
Vineyard Sound, pp. 342, 594, PI. 13.

Worm, Four-jawed (Euglycera americana) — Davenport, C. B. and G.C., Introduction
to Zoology, p. 146.

Worm, Fringed (Cirratulus grandis) — Verrill and Smith, Invertebrate Animals of
Vineyard Sound, Figs. 80, 81, PL 15.

Worm, Tufted (Amphitrite ornata) — Davenport, C. B. and G. C, Introduction to
Zoology, p. 149 Arnold, A. F., Sea Beach at Ebb Tide, p. 182. Mead, A.
D., American Journal of Morphology, Vol. XIII, 1897. Linville, H. R., Mark
Anniversary Volume, p. 225, 1903.

Worm, Blood-spot (Polycirrus eximius) — Davenport, C. B. and G. C, Introduction
to Zoology, p. 149. Verrill and Smith, Invertebrate Animals of Vineyard
Sound, p. 616, Fig. 85, PL XVL

Worm, Shell (Serpula dianthus) — Verrill and Smith, Invertebrate Animals of Vine-
yard Sound, pp. 322, 620.

Worm, Sea-flower (Spirobranchus tricornis)~Ehlers, E., Memoirs Mus. Compara-
tive Zoology, Harvard, Vol. XV, 1887.

Worm, Acorn (Balanoglossus) — Lang, A., Text-l)ook Comparative Anatomy, Part 2,
pp. 561-596. Agassiz, A., Memoirs Am. Academy Arts and Sciences, Vol.
IX, 1873. Bateson, W., Quarterly Journal Microscopical Science, 1884, '85,
'86. Morgan, T. H., Journal of Morphology, Vol. IX, 1894.

BRACHIOPODS.

Parchment Shell (Terebratidina septentrionalis) — Morse, E. S., Memoirs Boston
Society of Natural History, Vol. II, 1871. Also, Vol. V, No. 8, 1902.

MOSS ANLMALS AND CORALLINES.

Lace-Coralline (Membranipora pilosa)— Verrill and Smith, Invertebrate Animals of
Vineyard Sound, Pi. 34, Figs. 262, 263.

REFERENCES 175

Red Crust Coralline (EschareUa variabilis) — Verrill and Smith, Invertebrate Ani-
mals of Vineyard Sound, PI. 33, Fig. 256.

CRUSTACEANS.

Barnacle, Whale (Coronula diadema)— Darwin, C, Monograph of the Cirripedia,
PI 15, 16, 1851. Kingsley, J. S., Riverside Nat. Hist., Vol. II, p. 21.

Barnacle, Stalked, (Lepas coronula diadema j — Darwin, C, ilonograph of the Cirri-
pedia, p. 73, PI. 1. VerriU and Smith, Invertebrate Animals of Vineyard
Sound, p. 285, PI. 7, Fig. 31. Bigelow, il. A., Bull. JIuseum of Comparative
Zoology, Vol. XL., p. 59.

Crayfish (Cambarus) — Hagen, H., Memoirs Mus. of Com. Zoology, Harvard, ^'ol. I,
1871. Faxon, W., Memoirs Mus. Comparative Zoology, Harvard, Vol. IX,
1885. Goode, G. B., etc., U. S. Fish Comm., Fisheries and Fisherj^ Indus-
tries U. S., 1884.

Prawn, Snapping ( A Ipheus)— Brooks and Herrick, Memoirs. Nat. Acad. Sciences,
Vol. V, 1891.

Prawn, Common (Palaemonetes vulgaris)— Arnold, A. F., Sea Beach at Ebb Tide,
p. 260.

Shrimp, Common (Crangon vulgaris)— Arnold, A. F., Sea Beach at Ebb Tide, p. 261.

Shrimp, Edible (Penaeus setiferus) — U. S. Fish Comm., Fishery Industries U. S., Sec.
1,P1. 273, 188-1.

Shrimp, Coral (Stenopushispidus)- Herrick, F.H., Memoirs Nat. Academy Sciences,
Vol. V, 1891.

Slirimp, Feather-footed (.Mysis stenolepis) — Arnold, A. F., Sea Beach at FJ)I) Tide,
p. 257.

Crab, Hermit ( Pagiiridae )— Benedict, J. E, Bull. U. S. Fish Comm., Vol. XX,
Part 2, 1900.

Sand-Bug (^Hippa talpoida)— Arnold, A. F., Sea Beach at Ebb Tide, p. 268.

Mantis Shrimp (Squilla empusa) — Arnold, A. F., Sea Beach at Ebb Tide, p. 288.

Sand Fleas, Talorcliestia, etc.— Arnold, A. F., Sea Beach at Ebb Tide, p. 289.
Smallwood, ilal)el, Cold Spring Harbor Monographs, p. 1, 1903. Published
by Marine Biological Laboratory, Brooklyn Inst. Arts and Sciences.

Wood Borer, or Gribble— Arnold, A. F., Sea Beach at Ebb Tide, p. 292.

Crab, Green (Carcinus maenas) — Arnold, A. F., Sea Beach at Ebb Tide, p. 271.

Crab, Lady (Platyonichus ocellatus) — Arnold, A. F., Sea Beach at Ebb Tide, 276.

Crab, Jonah (Cancer borealis) — U. S. Fish Comm., Fishery Ind. of the U. S., Sec.
1,PL 260, 1881.

Crab, Oyster (Pinnotheres ostreum) — U. S. Fish Comm., Fishery Ind. of the IJ. S., Sec.
1,P1. 269, 1884. Verrill and Smith, Invertebrate Animals of Vineyard Sound,
p. 367, PI. 1, Fig. 2.

Crab, Fiddler (Uca) — Smith, S. I., Trans. Conn. Academy Arts and Sciences, Vol. II,
Part 1, 1870.

Crab, Spider (Libinia)— U. S. Fish Comm., Fishery Industries U. S., Sec. 1, PL 209.
Davenport, C. B. and G. C, Introduction to Zoology, p. 108.

176 SEA-SHORE LIFE

Crab, Horseshoe (Liinulus)— Arnold, A. F., Sea Beach at Ebb Tide, p. 295, PL 64.
Packard, A. S., Memoirs Boston Society of Nat. Hist., 1880.

MOLLUSKS.

Clam, Littleneck (Venus mercenaria) — Verrill & Smith, Invertebrate Animals of
Vineyard Sound, p. 65, PI. 26, Fig. 184, 1874. Kellogg, J. L., Bull. New
York State Museum, No. 71, Sept., 1903.

Clam, Sandbar — (Siliqua costata) — Dall, W. H., Bull. U. S. National Museum, No.
37, PI. 53, Fig. 3, 1889

Clam, Bloody (Argina pexata) — Davenport, C. B. and G. C, Introduction to Zoology,
p. 184.

Ship Worm (Teredo) — Verrill and Smith, Invertebrate Animals of Vineyard Sound,
p. 90 (384), PI. 26, Fig. 183. Quatrefages, A. de, Annal Sci. Naturelles,
Tom XI, pp. 202-228, 1849. Hatschek, B., Arbeit Zoolog. Institut Univer-
sitat Wien, Bd. Ill, Heft 1, 1880.

Scallop (Pecten in-adians) — Davenport, C. B., American Naturalist, Vol. XXXIV,
pp. 863-878, 1900. Also, Mark Anniversary Volume, 1903.

Scallop, Arctic (Pecten islandicus) — Gould and Binney, Invertebrates of Mass., p.
198, Fig. 495.

Snail, Sand-Collar (Limatia) — Verrill and Smith, Invertebrate Animals of Vineyard
Sound, p. 59 (353), PI. 23, Figs. 130, 133, 136.

Snail, Salt Marsh (Melampusbidentatus) — Verrill and Smith, Invertebrate Animals
of Vineyard Sound, PI. 25, Figs. 169, 169a.

Whelk (Fulgur)— Arnold, A. F., Sea 15e:ich at Ebb Tide, PI. I.

Periwinkle (Littorina littorea) — Bum pus, H. C, Zoological Bulletin, Vol. I, 1898.
Bigelow and Rathbun, American Naturalist, March, 1903.

Nautilus^Griffin, L, E , Memoirs of National Academy U. S., Vol. VIII, 1900. Dean,
Bashford, American Naturalist, Vol. XXXV, pp. 819-837.

Giant Squid (Architeuthis princeps) — Verrill, A. E., Am. Journal of Science, 1874,
p. 158; 1875, pp. 123, 177, 213; 1876, p. 236; 1877, p. 425. Also, Transac-
tions of Connecticut Academy of Sciences, Vol. V, 1878-82.

TUNICATES.

Sea-Squirt (Ciona intestinalis) — Castle, W. E., Bidl. Mus. Compai-ative Zoologj',
Harvard, Vol. XXVII, 1896. Willey A., .Amphioxus and the Ancestry of the
Vertebrates, 1894.

SlnDev.

Acanthopleura granulata, 114
Acorn-worm, 70
^Eolis papillosa, 152
Agassiz, A., 31, 33
Agassiz, E. C. and A., 23
Agassiz, L., 31, 47
Alcyonaria, 43
Alcyoneura carneum, 43
Alpheus heteroc-helis, 87

minus, 87

saulcyi, 86
Amphitrite ornata, G8
Aiicula sulphurea, 152
Anemones, 40
Annelids, 63
Anomia glabra, 135

simplex, 134
Aphrodite aculeata, 65
Appendicularia, 167
Arbacia punctulata, 58
Architeuthis princeps, 161
Argina pexata, 127
Argonaiita, 164
Armadillo slugs, 113
Arnold, Augusta F., 24, 80, 116
Ascidians, l66
Asterias forbesii, 17, 51, 52

vulgaris, 51
Astrangia danag, 42
Astrophyton agassizii, 57
Aurelia flavidula, 34

Balanoglossus kowalevskii, 70
Balanus balanoides, 81

hameri, 82
Barnacle, rock, 82

stalked, 82

whale, S2
Barnacles, 80
Basket star, 57
Benedict, James E , 102
Binney. W G., 116
Birgus latro, 93
Blastula, 22
Blood star, 54
Botryllus gouldii, 170
Brachiopods, 72

Brachyura, 98

Brooks, W. K., 169

Bryozoa, 74

Bnccinum undatmn, 143

Bugula turrita, 75

Bumpus, Hermon C. 84, 85, 148

Callinectes sapidus, 99
Cambarus affinis, 88

bai'tonii, 88

blanflingii, 88
Cancer borealis, 104

irroratus, 102
Carcinus maenas, 100
C'ardita borealis, 129
Cephalopoda, 152
Chalina oculata, 29
Chambered nautilus, 157
Chitonidw, 113

Chrysodonuis decemcostatus, 145
Ciona intestinalis, 169
Cirratulus graudis, 68
Clam, bloody, 127

cod, 129

giant, 121

hard shelled, 125

hen, 123

little neck, 125

long, 124

nanninose, 124

quahaug, 125

razor, 125

round, 125

sand bar, 127

soft-shell, 124

surf, 123

swimming, 127
Clams, 116
Cliona sulphurea, 28
Condylactis passiflora, 46
Conklin, E, G , 151
Coral, eyed, 40

false, 76

fleshy, 42

precious, 44

star, 41
Corallines, 74

178

INDEX

Corals, 40

Coronulii diadema, 82

Crab, blue, 99

edible, 99

fiddler, 106

ghost, 105

green, 100

gulf-weed, 101

horseshoe, 52, 110

Jonah, 104

lady, 101

imid, 102

orchid, 108

oyster, 104

robber, 93

rock, 78, 102

spider, 108

toad, 110
Crabs, 98

Crangon vidgaris, 89, 91
Cray-fishes, 87
Crepidula, 149

convexa, 151

fornicata, 150

plana, 151
Cribrella sanguinolenta, 54
Crustaceans, 77

relation to insects, 77
Ctenodiscus crispatus, 55
Cuvieria squamata, 61
Cyanea arctioa, 33

Dactylometra quinquecirra, 34
Danais archippus, 19
Darwin, Charles, 24
Davenport, C. B. and G. C, 23
Davenport, Mrs. Gertrude C., 47
Decker shell, 149
Devil-fish, American, 163
Diadema setosum, 59
Discosoma nidita, 76

Echinarachnius parma, HO
Edwardsia leidyi, 39, 47
Eel-grass hydroid, 37
Enais americana, 125
Epizoanthus americamis, 93
Escharella variabilis, 76
Euglycera americana, 68
Eupagurus bernhardus, 94

longicarpus, 94

pollicaris, 94
Evolution, law of, 21

Flat-worms, 62
Flukes, 62

Fulgiir canaliculata, 141
carica, 141
perversa, 143

Gasteropoda, 137

Gastrula, 23

Gecarcinus laterallis, 108

Gonionemus mv;rbachii, 35

Goode, G. B., 24

Gould, A. A. and Binney, \V. G., 116, 152

Grantia, ciliata, 29

Gribble, 97

Haeckel,^ Ernst, 31
Halcampa producta, 46
Hammatt, Mrs. M. L., 45
Hargitt, C. W., 31
Herdman, W., 169
Hermit crab, 92
Herrick. Francis H., 85
Hertwig, Richard, 23
Hippa talpoida, 94
Holothuria, 49
Homarus americanus, 83
Huxley, Thomas H., 88
Hyas coarctatus, 110
Hyat, Alpheus, 25
Hydroid, eel-grass, 37
passion-flower, 37
Hydroids, 30

Instincts of animals, 19

Janthina fragilis, 149
Jellyfishes, 30

development of, 31

rain-bow, 39, 47

star-spangled, 170

speckled, 34

thimble, 35
Jingle shell, 134

Kingsley, J. S., 23, 80, 157, 169
Korschelt and Haider, 23, 139
Kraken, the, 163

Lace coralline, 75
Lambe, Lawrence M., 25
Lamellibranchiata, ] 16
Lang, Arnold, 24, 120
Lepas anatifera, 83

fascicularis, 83
Libinia dubia, 109

emarginata, 109
Limnorea lignorum, 97
Limulus polyphenms, 110
Lithophagus, 131

INDEX

179

Littorina littorea, 1J8

palliata, 149
Lobster, American, 83

spiny, 85
Loeb, Jaques, 20
Loligo pealii, 161
Lumbriconereis opalina, 67

tenuis, 07
Lunatia heros, 139

llacrocheira kanipferi, 108
Mactra solidissima, 123
ilarine Life, distriliution of, 17
Marine Zoology. Textbooks of, 23
Mayer, A. G., 31
Mead, A. D., 53
Meckelia ingens, 64

rosea, 65
Megalops, 99

Melainpus bidentatus, 148
Meleagrina margaritifera, 135
Melicertum campanula, 35
Membranipora pilosa, 75
Metridium marginatum, 17, 44
Microciona prolifera, 28
Milky cross, 35

disk, 34
Mnemiopsis leidyi, 39, 47
Modiola modiolus, 130

plicatula, 130
Molgula manhattensis, 170
Mollusks, 113

naked, 151
Morgan, (J Lloyd, 20
Moss-animals, 74
Mussel, bearded, 130

edible, 129

fresh-water, 132

horse, 130

marine, 129

ribbed, 130 ^

rock-boring, 131
Mussels, 116
Mya arenaria, 123
Mysis stenolepis, 92
Mvtilus edulis, 129

Nagel and Parker, 19
Nassa obsoleta, 146

trivlttata, 14"
Nautilus, chambered, 154, 157

paper, 154, 164

pearly, 157

pompilius, 157

Nereis limbata, 66

pelagica, 66

virens, 66
Neverita duplicata, 139
Nudibranchiata, 151

Obelia commissuralis, 38
Octopus, 152
Octopus americanus, 163
Octopus bairdii, 164
Ocypoda arenaria, 105
Ommastrephes iUecebrosus, 161
Operculum, 138
Ophiopholis aculeata, 56

bell is, 57
Ophiura Itrevispina, 56
Orbicella acropora, 40
Orchestia agiiis, 97
Osphradiuin, 138
Ostrea edulis, 121

virginica, 121
Oyster, American, 121

Eiiropean, 121

pearl, 135
Oyster-drill. 146
Oysters, 1 16

Paguridae. 92
Palaenioiiftes vulgaris, 90
Panopeus depressus, 102

herbstii, 102
Panulirus argus, 85

interruptus, 86
Parchment shell, 73
Passion- Hower hydroid, 37
Pearls, 136
Pecten irradians, 133

island icus, 134
Penaeus brazilensis, 91

setiferus, 91
Pennaria tiarella, 37
Pentaceros reticulatus, 55
Periwinkle, 148
Phoxichilidium maxillare, 111
Physalia arethusa, 31
Pinna miiricata, 131
Pinnotheres maculatum, 105

ostreum, 104
Planes minutus, 102
Platodes, 62

Platyonichus ocellatus, 101
Pravvn, common, 90

snapping, 86
PrawTis, 88

Polyciriiis eximius, 69
Polyzoa, 74

180

INDEX

Porifera, 25
Porpita linna?ana, 32
Portuguese Man-of-War, 31
Portunus sayi, 101
Purpui-a lapillus, 144
Pycnogoaidse, 111

Radula, 137
Rathbun, Mary J., 102
Red ciTist, 76
Rhodactinia davisii, 47

Sagartia leiicolena, 10, 45

lucia^, 47
Salpa, 167
Sand-bug, 94
Sand-dollar, 60
Sand-fleas, 96
Saville-Kent, W., 121
Scallop, Arctic, 134

common, 133
Sea-anemones, 40

brown, 44

cake, 48

crimson, 47

orange streaked, 47

parasitic, 47

passion-flower, 46

sand, 46

white-armed, 45
Sea-arrows, 159
Sea-blubber, 33
Sea cuciunber brittle, 60

crimson, 61

red, 61
Sea cuciunbers, 49
Sea fans, 44
Sea-flower, 70
Sea-mouse, 65
Sea-plume, 38
Sea-shigs, 151
Sea-spiders, 111
Sea-squirts, 165
Sea urchin, green, 52, 59

purple, 58

stinging, 59
Sea urchins, 49
Serpula dianthus, 69
Shell, boat, 149

jingle, 134

parchment, 73

razor, 132
Ship-worm, 128
Shrimp, common, 89

coral, 91

edible, 91

feather-footed, 92

mantis, 95
Shrimps, 88
Siliqua costata, 126
Siphon, 115
Slipper limpets, 149
Slugs, 137
Smith, H. M., 28
Snail, floating, 149

mud-flat, 146

rock, 144

salt-marsh, 148

sand-collar, 139

sand-flat, 147

sea-weed, 149

ten ribbed, 145
Snails, 137

Solenomya velum, 127
Spider crabs, 108
Spirol)ranchus tricornis, 70
Spirula, 154
Spongia, agricina, 27

equina gossypina, 27

equina ineandriformis, 27

graniinea, 27

officinalis tubulifera, 27
Sponge, boring, 28

finger, 29

glove, 26

grass, 27

red, 27

sheepswool, 27

sulphur, 29

urn, 29

A-elvet, 27

yellow, 27
Sponges, 25

commercial, 26
Squid, blunt-tailed, 161

short-tailed, 161

giant, 161
Squids, 152
Squilla empiisa, 95
Starfish, blood, 54

brittle, 56

common, 50

giant, 55

mud, 55

serpent, 56
Starfishes, 49
Staurophora laciniata, 35
Stebbing, Thomas R. R . 80
Stenopus hispidus, 91
Stoichactis helianthus, 48
Strongylocentrotns drobachiensis, 59
Suberites compacta, 29

INDEX

181

Sycotypus canaliculatus, 141
Syllidge, 63
Synapta inhserens, 60
roseola, 61

Tadpole tunicate, 166
Talorchestia longicornis, 97
Tape worms, 6-
Tealia crassicomis, 47
Terebrattdina septentrionalis, 73
Teredo, 1^7

navalis, 129
Thamuocnidia spectabilis, 37
Trachydermon apiculata, 113
Tridacna gigas, 121
Trochophoie, 120
Tuuicates, 166

Uca iiiinax, 107

pugilator, 107

pugnax, 107
Unios, 133
Urosalpinx cinerea, 146

Velella mutica, 32

Venus uiercenaria, 125

Verrill, A. E., 24

Verrill, A. E. and Smith, S. I., 24, 135

Verrill, Miss L. L., 47

Wampum, purple, 125
Whelk, channelled, 142

english, 143

giant, 141

knobbed, 141
WiUey, Arthur, 169
Wilson, Edmund B., 23, 66, 112
Wilson, John, 130
Wood-borer, 97
Woodward and Tait, 120
Worm, acorn, 70

blood-spot, 69

clam, 65

flat, 62

four-jawed, 68

fiinged, 68

opal, 67

palolo, 64

pink rilibon, 65

read thread, 67

ribbon, 64

shell, 69

tape, 62

tufted, 68
Worms, 62

Yerkes, Robert, 20

Zosea, 98

\TEMBERS of the ^New York Zoological Society are entitled to tlie
Annual Reports and Quarterly Bulletins and to free entrance on
closed days to the Zoological Park and Aquarium. Dues for annual
members, $10. life members, $200. Information and application
forms may be obtained at the Aquarium, and at the office of the
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York Citv.

5^ulJiifation^

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First Annual Report

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Notes on Mountain Sheep of North America.

(Hornaday) .......

Destruction of Our Birds and Mammals. (Iloiiiaday)
The Caribou. (Grant) "

" " " Cloth

The Origin and Relationship of the Large Mammals

OF North America. (Grant) ... "

The Rocky Mountain Goat. (Grant)
Sea-Shore Life. (Mayer)
Guide Book: New York Zoological Park
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