The larval development of three species ofMagelona(Polychaeta) from localities near Plymouth

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Abstract
Fertilizations ofMagelona filiformis, M. alleni, andM. mirabiliswere made in the laboratory and the resulting larvae reared through the earliest stages. Later stages of all three species were obtained from the plankton and induced to metamorphose in the laboratory. The long larval tentacles derive from the prototroch and associated tissues. Adult tentacles appear during later pelagic life as thickenings at the bases of the larval tentacles; the latter, together with the long provisional bristles, are discarded at metamorphosis. The early larvae ofM. alleniare considerably larger than equivalent stages of the other two species. The early larvae ofM. mirabilisare peculiar in that at first the larval tentacle of the left side is a mere stump while that of the right side is relatively large; in the other two species both tentacles are of equal length. Larvae of the three species are readily identifiable by characters described in the text.

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