134 Bibliographical Notices. 



Annelides." Besides progressing by means of suckers, " the Holo- 

 thuriadce move as Annelides do, by the extension and contraction of 

 their bodies." " On our shores they are rare and unattractive ani- 

 mals, not often seen even by the zoologist ; but abroad they are very 

 abundant, and are in some places used as food." 



" It is this animal which the Malays of the Oriental Isles seek so dili- 

 gently for the supply of the China market, where it obtains a good price 

 when well-preserved. It is employed by the Chinese in the preparation of 

 nutritious soups, in common with an esculent sea-weed, sharks' fins, edible 

 birds'-nests, and other materials, affording much jelly. Jaeger says the in- 

 testines are extracted, the animal then boiled in sea-water, and dried in 

 smoke." 



The order Holothuriadce contains six genera, two of which, Psali- 

 nus and Ocnus are constituted by our author. It contains altogether 

 fifteen native species, six of which are now for the first time described 

 and figured ; these are Psolinus brevls, Cucumaria communis, C. fusi- 

 formis, C. fucicola, Ocnus lacteus and Thyone Portlockii. There are 

 three others which had been recently described in the ' Annals,' and 

 are now for the first time figured, viz. C. Drummondii, C. Hyndmanni, 

 . and Ocnus brunneus ; we have also for the first time a figure of Cue. 

 hyalina. 



" Doubtless there yet remain many undiscovered species of Holothuriadce 

 in the British seas. Of Starfishes we must not expect to find many more 

 kinds, though Goniaster miliaris, and some few others which have been seen 

 on the Norwegian shores, may be looked for. Of Sea-Urchins there are 

 probably still fewer unnoticed ; but of the Sea-Cucumbers many. Their 

 comparatively unattractive aspect, the difficulty of preserving them (they 

 must always be kept in spirits), their habitat in the sea, and the little atten- 

 tion that has hitherto been paid to them by native zoologists, all lead me to 

 believe that many species have been passed over. We have as yet no repre- 

 sentative of the typical Holothurice which have twenty tentacula in the Bri- 

 tish Fauna. Several of these, such as the Holothuria elegans and Holothu- 

 ria mollis, inhabitants of the Scandinavian shores, will probably ere long 

 prove to be natives of our own." 



Lastly, we come to the sixth order, Sipunculid^e. " In their ex- 

 ternal appearance they are w r orms," but internally they afford evi- 

 dence of belonging to the same great class '? with the Holothuriadce. ," 

 In the Sipunculidte there are five British genera and eight species ; 

 two of these, Syrinx Harveii and Sipunculus Johnstonii, are now for 

 the first time described and figured. Of Syrinx papillosus we have 

 for the first time a figure ; it was described shortly before this work 

 appeared. Syrinx nudus, Sipunc. Bernhardus, Priapulus caudatus, and 

 Echinus vulgaris, are for the first time figured frcm British speci- 

 mens ; the last-mentioned had not before been announced as a na- 

 tive of our seas. 



The description given of some of these animals is extremely cu- 

 rious ; one {Priapulus caudatus) "is shaped like a dice-box;" an- 

 other has a sheath for its tentacula, presenting the form of a marrow- 

 spoon. When we find the likeness of our household appurtenances 

 thus dwelling beneath the waters as living animals, it calls to our 

 mind the well-known quotation, " Nothing of them but doth suffer 



