245 



ECHIURIDAE 



Genus Echiurus Pallas 



I. Echiurus antarcticus Spengel. Plate VII, fig. i. 



Echiurus antarcticus Spengel, 1912, p. 200. 

 Distribution. South Georgia; Grytviken, Cumberland Bay: Spengel, loc. cit. 



Occurrence. South Georgia: St. WS 62. 15-90 m. 



Larsen Harbour, 10-20 m. 

 St. 28. 168 m. 

 St. 45. 238-270 m. 

 St. 140. 122-136 m. 

 St. 142. 88-273 rn- 

 St. 148. 132-148 m. 

 St. 167. 244-344 m. 



South Shetlands: St 190. 90-130 m. 



Our knowledge of this species rests on the specimens described by Spengel from 

 South Georgia. In the collections there are examples from nine stations, but these, 

 with one exception, are still in close proximity to the original place of capture. The 

 new record comes from St. 190 in the Bismarck Strait, South Shetlands, and this 

 marks a considerable extension in the known range of the species, this station being 

 nearly a thousand miles from South Georgia. It should be stated, however, that this 

 record rests on the presence of a single introvert in the collection, no other portions of 

 the animal being found. This introvert is very similar to that contained in the same 

 tube as the specimen of Echiurus antarcticus at St. 167 which, I presume, belonged to 

 this species. 



In all, fourteen specimens were taken and these came from nine stations. At seven 

 of these stations only a single specimen was found, but at Wilson Harbour five animals 

 were brought up by the grapnel, and oflf Signy Island two specimens were secured with 

 net N 4-T. 



The species is a fairly deep water one, the range in depth at which it was taken by 

 the Discovery Committee's ships varied from 88 to 344 m., with the single exception 

 of the shallow-water station in Larsen Harbour where the depth was under 20 m. 



Spengel, in his description of the species, gives as distinctions between this species 

 and the northern Echiurus echiurus Pall. : (i) the arrangement of the papillae on the skin, 

 (2) the shape of the introvert, (3) the number of nephridia. 



In E. echiurus the small papillae lying between the well-marked rows of large papillae 

 are also arranged in rows. In E. antarcticus Spengel states that the small papillae are 

 not arranged in this manner but are scattered. In most of the Discovery specimens 

 the small papillae are not very distinct, but an examination of the animals shows that the 

 small papillae, which at first sight appear to be scattered at random, are really arranged 

 in rows. The rows, however, are very incomplete and gaps of varying width occur. 



The second distinction between the two species lies in the form of the introvert. 

 In E. echiurus this takes the form of a short stout truncate cylinder, with longitudinal 



