Abstract
In a former paper (Allen, Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. B., Vol. 211, p. 131, 1921) it was shown that the Syllid Procerastea Halleziana Malaquin, addition to the ordinary mode of sexual reproduction which occurs in this group, reproduced asexually by a process of fragmentation, followed by the regeneration by each fragment of a new head and series of anterior segments and of a new pygidium and posterior segments. The fragments usually consisted of sections of two, three, or four segments each, in the region of the body behind the seventh setigerous segment. It was further shown that this breaking up of Procerastea, which could be produced artificially at any time by treating the worms with sea-water of low salinity, made by adding distilled water to natural sea-water, took place according to a definite law. The first section consisted normally of the head and setigerous segments 1 to 7, then followed three sections of two segments each (Segments 8 and 9; 10 and 11; 12 and 13), then three sections of three segments (14–16; 17–19; 20–22), followed by four or five sections of four segments each, and then a number of sections of three segments.