General Description

(from Coe, W. R. (1901). Papers from the Harriman Alaska Expedition. XX. The nemerteans.. Proc. Wash. Acad. Sci.. 1-110.)
Representatives of this genus are characterized by a slender, sometimes thread-like body, usually rounded throughout. The body is commonly twisted and coiled into an irregular mass. The movements are sluggish. The animals creep over objects and readily move about on the surface of the water, but they are unable to swim. The body is extremely contractile; the head is often slightly wider than the body, of oval shape, and is usually provided with numerous minute ocelli, often arranged in a single row on each side of the head. A caudal papilla or cirrus, a diagonal muscular layer, and neurochord cells are all wanting. The proboscis sheath is often short in comparison with the length of the body.