224 Annals of the South African Museum. 



THE ECHINODERM FAUNA OF SOUTH AFRICA. 



The collections of the South African Museum entrusted to my 

 charge contained 1854 specimens of echinoderms, representing 157 

 species. Of these 32 seem to have been hitherto undescribed and 

 one of these represents a new genus (Spatagobnssus}. It has also 

 seemed desirable to establish a new genus (Tropholampas) for the 

 remarkable little sea-urchin called by Studer Catopygus loveni, and 

 another genus (Dictenophitira) is instituted for a small group of 

 brittle-stars of which Ophiura carnea Ltk. is the type. 



In addition to the 157 species of the present collection, there are 

 valid records for 59 other species, so that the present report includes 

 210 species, or more than double the number known from this region 

 twenty years ago. The importance of the work done by the PIETER 

 FAURE and the South African Museum during the past twenty years 

 could scarcely be better emphasized than by that simple statement 

 of fact. Of the 210 species treated herein, 118 are strictly littoral, 

 occurring in less than 20 fms. of w r ater, while 23 are abyssal, occur- 

 ring only beyond the 000 fms., line. The remaining 75 species may 

 be called continental. 



Of the 118 littoral species, 45 are endemic and 2 are, if not 

 actually cosmopolitan, of such wide distribution that they may be 

 ignored in considering the origin of the echinoderm fauna. Of the 

 remaining 71 species no fewer than 66, or 93 "/ , are species of the 

 Indo-Paciiic region or at least of the western Indian Ocean. Only 

 three seem to have an Atlantic origin and only two are distinctly 

 austral. 



Of the 75 continental species, on the other hand, 50 are endemic 

 and 4 are of too w r ide a distribution for consideration, while of the 

 21 remaining only 4, or 19 "/ , are of Indo-Pacific affinities, while 

 10 are austral and 7 are Atlantic Ocean forms. The abvssal fauna 



*/ 



is like the continental except that of the 23 species only 5 are 

 endemic. There are 6 of very wide distribution and of the remaining 

 12, only two, <>r 17%, are Indo-Pacific, while 2 are austral and 8 

 are Atlantic. 



These figures show at a glance what a highly characteristic fauna 



