392 



FISHERY BULLETIN OF THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



Prefers sheltered eelgrass patches and similar 

 localities. 



As so often the case the young ones are seldom 

 collected so we may assume that they live in 

 deeper water or in crevices until they suddenly 

 appear, almost full-grown, at a few feet of depth. 



Edwards considers it the mature stage of H. 

 fioridana which has a similar anatomy and some- 

 what simpler spicules of about the same size 

 If he is right the name must of course be with- 

 drawn under Pourtales' older name, but in my 

 opinion it has a different distribution which only 

 overlaps that of fioridana in Florida, and there 

 we do not know whether specimens with different 

 types of spicules have been collected in the same 

 spots. 



5 Holothuria fioridana Pourtales 



FIG. 66: 23 



Holothuria fioridana Pourtales, 1851, p. 8; Deichmann, 

 1930, p. 72, pi. 5, figs. 5-9. 



Diagnosis. — Medium-sized form ; preserved spec- 

 imens 15 cm. long; mouth slightly ventral bent 

 with 20 large tentacles; numerous cylindrical feet 

 on ventrum; dorsal side with low conical warts 

 ending in small papillae. Spicules tables and 

 numerous simple rosettes which never seem to 

 form plates with complete holes. Color dirty 

 white, with darker spots, sometimes uniformly 

 dark. Type: Probably not preserved. Type 

 locality: Florida reefs. Distribution: Extremely 

 common in Florida as well as around Yucatdn 

 from where it was described under different 

 names by Ives in 1890. Also reported from Swan 

 Island and as far south as Colon, Panama, but 

 has apparently never been taken in the waters of 

 the Lesser Antilles or South America. A single 

 record from northern Cuba. The adult lives 

 freely exposed in tide pools, at utmost with a 

 few algae or a little sand attached to the back, 

 while the young individuals conceal themselves 

 among mangroves or under rocks, as Pourtales 

 observed. 



Edwards (1905, 1908) studied the early develop- 

 ment of this form and made an attempt to co- 

 relate the growth of the animals with the changes 

 of the spicules. He considered H. mexicana the 

 aged stage of this species, but from studj' of his 

 material in the United States National Museum 

 I am inclined to disagree, although it would be 

 tempting to take the easy course and lump the 

 two forms. As far as I can see they have a dif- 



ferent range which only overlaps in few places and 

 even there we do not know whether they live in 

 exactly the same environment. It is a question 

 which should be attacked on the basis of freshly 

 collected material by a modern worker, without 

 the use of old material which possibly may have 

 been wrongly labeled. 



[6 Holothuria grisea Selenka 



Holothuria grisea Selenka, 1867, p. 328, pi. 18, figs. 

 52-56; Deichmann, 1926, p. 15; 1930, p. 76, pi. 5, figs. 1-4. 



Diagnosis. — Up to 25 cm. long with 20 to 25 

 tentacles which are downward directed; ventrally 

 numerous soft feet, dorsally 4 to 6 rows of distinct 

 warts, ending in papillae. Spicules, scattered 

 tables and heaps of small plates with 2 to 4 large 

 central holes, a few small holes in the ends and a 

 margin with blunt teeth. Color in alcohol, salt 

 and pepper gray; in life, with specks of bright 

 yellow, red and black. Type: Museum of Com- 

 parative Zoology. Type locality: Haiti. Dis- 

 tribution: Known from Haiti, Puerto Rico, and 

 southward along the Lesser Antilles to Rio de 

 Janeiro, Brazil. Also reaching Colon, Panama. 

 A single doubtful record from Florida (Sluiter's 

 grisea from that region is at least p&rtly fioridana) . 

 Most likely this species will not be found in the 

 Gulf although it may have been able to penetrate 

 from south along the coasts of Central America 

 and Mexico. It is chieflj^ included here to prevent 

 misidentification.] 



7 Holothuria parvula (Selenka) 



FIO. 66: 12-13 



MuUeria parvula Selenka, 1867, p. 314, pi. 38, figs. 

 17-18. 



Holothuria parvula Deichmann, 1930, p. 70, pi. 4, 

 figs. 14-22. 



Diagnosis. — Small form, 6 to 7 cm. long, 

 flattened with 20 large ventral tentacles, numerous 

 ventral feet and low warts with papillae on the 

 dorsum. Color yellowish brown, contains a green- 

 ish pigment, extracted in alcohol. Spicules a uni- 

 form layer of tables with rounded disk and squat 

 spire and inner layer of thin, smooth elliptical 

 buttons with two rows of small holes. Type: 

 Museum of Comparative Zoology. Type locality: 

 Florida. Distribution: Seems widespread in the 

 West Indies and Bermuda, but the exact range is 

 not loiown. The species occurs often in large 

 numbers under flat rocks in tide pools. Trans- 

 versal fission seems to be a normal occurrence. 



