Adaptations of the Bathypelagic nemerteans

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Abstract
Discusses the special adaptations of these organisms for a free-swimming existence far beneath the surface of the oceans. Forty-seven of these highly modified forms have been described, many of which are flat, broad, and fish-like, with thin lateral margins and horizontal tail-fins. Most of them have a gelatinous consistency to facilitate swimming slowly or floating idly at considerable depths. Since they form but a sparse population in the depths of the great oceans, they have evolved curious adaptations for insuring fertilization. The spermaries are situated in or near the head; in some species they are anterior to the brain, and these may be accompanied by extrusible sperm ducts for copulation and associated with lateral appendages or adhesive organs for holding the sexes together.

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