NOVEL METHOD OF SUSPENSION FEEDING BY THE MALDANID POLYCHAETE PRAXILLURA-MACULATA

P. maculata Moore (1923), quite unlike other maldanid polychaetes, constructs a membranaceous tube bearing 6-12 stiff radial spokes, each 25-30 mm long. The spokes radiate from the mouth of the tube and are arranged in almost a single plane approximately normal to its axis. A mucus web in which particles are passively caught is hung between the spokes at a distance of 2-7 cm above the substrate. The worm swallows the mucus to obtain the food. Additions are made to the description of the species, which has not previously been reported from British Columbia, Canada.