REPORT ON THE HEXACTINELLIDA. 



465 



The Inermia, which only occur in the lesser depths and even there only sparsely, 



furnish the following scale : — 



Thouo-h the facts expressed above may seem to furnish somewhat scanty material 

 for collating the bathymetrical range with the characteristics of the several genera 

 and species, I shall at least attempt to utilise the results of the Expedition in this 

 direction. 



In the genus Evplectella the familiar Euplectella aspergillum was simply found as 

 before near the Philippine Island, Zebu, at a depth of 95 fathoms, and therefore in 

 comparatively shallow water ; Euplectella suberea occurred off the Portuguese coast at 

 depths of 600 to 1090 fathoms, and also to the north-east of Bahia at a depth 1600 

 fathoms; Euplectella nodosa occurred at a depth of 1075 fathoms near the Bermudas, 

 and Euplectella crassistellata, on the other hand, at the considerable depth of 2750 

 fathoms in Mid Pacific. 



The four species of the new genus Holascus frequent the greater depths. Several 

 occurred in the South Indian Ocean between Prince Edward Island and the Crozets, others 

 south-west of Australia, others near the Philippines, and others again east of Monte 

 Video, at depths varying from 1375 to 2650 fathoms. With an approximately sunilar 

 range from 1375 to 2450 fathoms, two species of Malacosaccus were procured in the 

 Indian Ocean to the west of the Crozets Islands, and in the Atlantic, west of Guinea. 

 The two beautiful Tsegerinae, Twgeria pulchra and Walteria Jiemmingii, were found in 

 the South Pacific, near the Kermadec and the Kandavu Islands respectively, at the 

 moderate depths of 620 and 630 fathoms. 



In regard to the Asconematidse, the genus Aulascus, with its single species Aulascus 

 johnstoni (like the typical genus of the Asconematinse, Asconema itself, which was not 

 obtained on the Challenger Expedition) occurred at the comparatively slight depth of 

 310 fathoms, near Prince Edward Island. The branched Sympagella mix occurred 

 near the Cape Verde Islands at a depth of 1150 fathoms, while the two other Sympagol- 

 linaj, Pohjrhahdus and Balanites, were found in the southern portion of the Indian Ocean 

 at depths of 1950 and 1975 fathoms. The stalked Caulophacmse were di-edged from 



(ZOOL. CHALL. ESP. — PAET LIII. 1887.) 



Ggg59 



