10 BULLETIN OF THE 



and more scattered on the ambulacra, excepting towards the mouth and anus, 

 where they appear to be much more crowded ; two of the tentacles are very 

 long, resembling in their retracted state long slender tubular sacs strengthened 

 with crowded transverse calcareous spicules, and they appear to be almost 

 unbranched. The close-lying plates render the body-wall very hard, rough, 

 and brittle, and closely resemble those in the type described by Sars. 



With regard to the shape of the body, the specimens from Barbados form a 

 transition between the Dendrochirotse and Rhopalodinidae. 



Habitat. Grenada (1878-79); depth 576 fathoms; one typical specimen. 

 Off Morro Light (1878-79); depth 250-400 fathoms; one typical specimen. 

 St. Vincent (1878-79) ; depth 464 .fathoms; one specimen. St. Kitts (1878- 

 79); depth 270 fathoms; four specimens. Lat. 24° 8' N., Lon. 82° 51' W. 

 (1877-78) ; depth 339 fathoms; eight specimens. Barbados (1878-79); depth 

 209 fathoms ; two specimens. 



Bchinocucumis asperrima, n. sp. 



The body, like that of Echinocucumis typica, is curved ; the ventral surface is 

 considerably more developed and more convex than the dorsal. The body 

 tapers strongly both towards the anterior and posterior extremity ; the caudal 

 portion is long, narrow, and tail-like. In the largest specimen, the body itself 

 measures about 25 mm. in length and 17 mm. in thickness; the retracted 

 anterior portion of the animal is 10 mm. long, and the tail 18 mm., so that the 

 whole length becomes about 53 mm. When fully extended the length is 

 probably considerably greater. The anus seems to be fringed by cylindrical 

 papillae and teeth (?). The hard, brittle glassy integument is filled up with 

 large reticulate scales, which are visible to the naked eye, each scale being 

 provided with a long, more or less eccentric spine, which gives to the skin 

 an almost spinous aspect. A closer examination reveals that each scale is 

 irregularly oval or elongate, and composed of several superposed layers of 

 calcareous network ; the spine, or rather spire, which is situated more or 

 less near the margin of the scales, presents traces of having been composed of a 

 network like that in Echinocucumis typica, but the perforations have dis- 

 appeared, and the whole forms a more or less irregular cone; at the base of 

 the spine some perforations are often found. 



So far as I can see, the tentacles are like those of Echinocucumis typica. 

 The calcareous ring is very minute and devoid of posterior prolongations. A 

 single madreporic canal and one Polian vesicle are present. 



The pedicels are very minute, so that it is difficult to detect them among the 

 large spines of the deposits. They appear to be more scantily distributed than 

 in Echinocucumis typica, but belong evidently to the ambulacra alone ; towards 

 the extremities of the body, the pedicels are more easily distinguished. They 

 are supported by curved transverse rods. 



Habitat. Lat. 17° 55' N., Lon. 76° 41' 20" W. (1878-79); depth 150 



