Abstract
THE periodical autumnal swarming in the seas around the Samoan Islands of the annelid locally known as the palolo has attracted the attention of residents in those islands and naturalists generally for many years. The swarming takes place in October and November, apparently on the day before the last quarter of the moon, and on this and the following day the sea is absolutely alive with the worms, of which the numbers seem to be greater in the November than in the October swarm. Early dawn is the time for the swarming to commence, and by sunrise the phenomenon is at its height. Not the least curious feature about the swarming is the fact that all the worms are imperfect and headless, and the nature of the complete worm has long been a puzzle to naturalists. Thanks, however, to the investigations of Messrs. Krämer and Friedländer, supplemented by the observations of Mr. W. McM. Woodworth, the solution of the problem has at length been discovered. The results of these investigations have been published in Dr. Krämer's “Die Samoa Inseln” (Stuttgart, 1903), while the original English version of this account, drawn up by Mr. Woodworth, appears in the American Naturalist for December last.
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The Palolo Worm of Samoa . Nature 69, 523–524 (1904). https://doi.org/10.1038/069523b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/069523b0