3Q 



195- B. Stat. 274. 5°28'.2S., i34°53'.9E., 57 Metres; sand and shells, stones (on Retepora, 



195. A.). 

 131. S. Stat. 164. i°42'.5 S., I30°47'.5 E., 32 Metres; sand, small stones and shells (on Lepralia 



celleporoideSi 131. A.). 

 337. I. Stat. 71. Makassar, O — 32 Metres; mud, sand with mud, coral. 

 348. A. Stat. 213. Saleyer, o — 36 Metres; coral-reefs, mud, and mud with sand (on Adeonella, 



347. A.). 



Size large, reaching a total length (calyx + stalk) of at least 3 mm. Tentacles about 

 20 — 24. Stalk with a large proximal muscular portion and a very long, cylindrical, distal 

 portion, without spines but covered with a thick cuticle, the inner layer of which is perforated 

 by numerous pores. 



If the synonymy given above is correct, B. discreta has a wide distribution. The specimens 

 originally described by Busk were dredged off Tristan da Cunha, 100 — 150 fathoms (Brit. Mus. 

 99. 7. 1. 4447). It has been recorded more recently by Kirkpatrick from the Tizard Bank, China 

 Sea, 27 fathoms (Brit. Mus. 89. S. 21.66); by Miss Thornely from Ceylon; by Annandale 

 from India; by Oka from near Tokyo, 5 — 10 Metres; by Waters from 11e Londonderry, Canal 

 Francais, Magellanes, Chili; by Osburn from Woods Hole, Mass. and from Florida; and, assuming 

 the correctness of Waters' synonymy, by Jüllien from Ile Hoste (near Cape Horn), 26 Metres; 

 and perhaps by Verrill from the Bermudas. The 'Siboga' localities fall into two groups; - 

 Stat. 274 and Stat. 164 from near the N. W. extremity of New Guinea; and Stat. 71 and 

 Stat. 2 1 3 from the S. end of the Straits of Makassar and the neighbourhood. 



I have no doubt that the 'Siboga' specimens belong to the same species as the forms 

 described by Oka under the name of Barcntsia misakiensis. The original description given by 

 that author appeared in Japanese; and I derive my knowledge of his results from his later 

 paper (1895), which was published in French. I have been able to verify his account of the 

 Japanese form by the examination of specimens obtained from near Tokyo, 40 — 53 fathoms, in 

 the University Museum of Zoology, Cambridge (Reg. June 23, 1902). Although I have counted 

 23 tentacles in one of the Japanese individuals, coming within the limits (20 — 24) given by 

 Oka, another was found to have as many as 29. Busk gives 16 — 20 for the specimens from 

 Tristan da Cunha. But independently of the fact that the range of variation in the number of 

 tentacles in Pedicellinidae has not been satisfactorily decided, too much stress must not be laid 

 on statements with regard to the number, unless the author in question has had specially good 

 opportunities of counting them with certainty. I am thus not disposed to attach too much 

 importance to Oka's statement (1895, p. 5) that B. misakiensis can easily be distinguished from 

 B. discreta by the larger number of its tentacles. 



The present species appears to be well characterised by its large size; by the great 

 length of the narrow portion of the stalk; and, above all, by the curious pores with which this 

 part of the stalk is provided. These pores may perhaps be regarded as vestigial spines. Similar 

 pores are known to occur in the stalks of certain other Pedicellinidae, as in Pedicellinopsis 

 tru/icosa Hincks, in Barentsia macropiis Ehlers and in B. (Gonypodaria) ramosa Robertson. 



In all these respects the 'Siboga' specimens agree closely with those from Japan. This 

 may be illustrated, with regard to size, by the following measurements, in a : 



3° 



