LONG SEA-CUCUMBER. 219 



NOLO THURIADJE. PENTACTM. 



LONG SEA-CUCUMBER. 

 Cucumaria fusiformis. Forbes and Groodsir. 



Specific Character. — Body much elongated, cylindrical, white, rough with 

 papilla? ; suckers numerous, alternate, in five regular rows ; tentacula ten, short, 

 triangularly pinnate. 



Holotharia fusiformis, Forbes and Goodsir, Athenaeum, No. 618. 



This is the longest, in proportion to its thickness, of all 

 the British Sea-Cucumbers. It is a small species, measur- 

 ing about an inch in length. It is rounded, and tapers 

 slightly towards each extremity. The pinkish-white skin 

 is covered with plumose papillae, and the five rows of 

 suckers are not prominent. The suckers are doubly 

 ranged, and alternate in each row, generally above thirty. 

 The tentacula are ten, short, somewhat triangular, white, 

 and pinnated to their bases. It is a sluggish animal, and 

 not fond of changing form. We dredged several specimens 

 in the Shetland seas during the summer of 1839. 



The specimens examined, when dissected, presented the 

 respiratory trees rather simpler than in its allies, the in- 

 testinal canal well developed, and the teeth rather small ; 

 but w T e found no traces of genital tubes or of an oesopha- 

 geal sac. The examples were probably young specimens ; 

 but there can be no question of the distinctness of the 



