^P. squamata.^ Twelve pairs of rough scales; color sandy-brown, speckled; one inch to one and a half inches long; the broad, oval scales overlap and entirely cover the body and head. Some /Polynoë/ when disturbed throw off every scale. Very common north of Cape Cod. ^P. sublevis.^ Twelve pairs of smooth scales; usually grayish-brown in color, speckled with dark spots; iridescent; last pair of scales more slender than the others; length one and a quarter inches, breadth about one quarter of an inch. [Illustration: /Polynoë squamata./] GENUS ^Harmothoë^ ^H. imbricata.^ Sixteen pairs of smooth scales; variable in color; usually gray, speckled, or striped. GENUS ^Aphrodite^ ^A. aculeata.^ This polychæte, sometimes called the sea-mouse, is one of the most beautiful of worms. It is brightly iridescent in color, from its setæ, which form a fur-like coating over the dorsal surface. It has fifteen pairs of scales, but they are hidden by the numerous setæ. These bristles cover its sides and back. Some are coarse and nearly an inch long, with sharp points, and are barbed near the ends. They curve over the back like the quills of a porcupine. The body is three to six inches long. It is broadest in the middle and tapers to a point. They live in mud below tide-mark, and may be found washed upon the beach after storms. [pg175] FAMILY ~PHYLLODOCIDÆ~ [Illustration: /Aphrodite aculeata/, natural size: /c/, neuropodial chætæ; /p/, palps; 1, iridescent bristles; 2, stiff chætæ; 3, felting bristles of notopodium.] These animals are commonly known as "paddle-worms," on account of having leaf-like cirri, which they use in locomotion. The head is long and bears four pairs of short and four pairs of long tentacles. The body is long and depressed, sometimes two feet in length, usually eight to twelve inches long. The general color is bright green and iridescent. Found in tide-pools. Specimens are often found by digging in sandy mud, or they may be obtained by placing old shells and other material in a dish of sea-water. When the water becomes a little stale, the worms of this and other families make their way to the sides of the dish, where they secrete a colorless slime which holds mud or any light matter that it may come in contact with. In this condition, when lifted or disturbed, they crawl rapidly out of the slime, and show to good advantage their elongate body, which is often beautifully colored. GENUS ^Phyllodoce^ [Illustration: /Phyllodoce paretii./] ^P. gracilis.^ Three inches or more long and one sixteenth of an inch wide; large proboscis, with twelve longitudinal rows of prominent [pg176] projections on the swollen base, its terminal end smooth, with a circle of round projections at the orifice; color green, with a row of dark spots down the center of the dorsal surface and a fainter line of spots on each side at the base of the parapodia. Found on the New England coast.