ECHIUROIDEA. 129 
The colour of the animal differs but little from what has hitherto been described. 
The ventral surface of the proboscis was yellow with a thin violet stripe as is usual. 
The fourteen longitudinal muscles were of a purplish red hue with greenish interspaces, 
and the posterior pitted portion was violet. The animal as Mr Cooper described it 
“pulsated horribly,” and as the contractions passed along the body the areas, which coincided 
with the point of intersection of the longitudinal and transverse muscles, swelled up into 
prominent, light-pinkish knobs. 
The alimentary canal was full of pieces of coral rock, some of considerable dimensions. 
Mr J. Stanley Gardiner has been good enough to examine a small specimen of the contents 
of the intestine and has kindly furnished me with the following list of its varied 
components :— 
“One piece of Madrepora, end of a branch, corallum not at all worn down, 13 mm. 
long by 65 mm. in diameter, spines ete. still perfect and cells full of animal tissues: five 
pieces of Pocillipora, the largest 14 x 0 mm.: fragments of Distichopora: Lamellibranch and 
Gastropod shells, two of the latter perfect, apparently having recently contained the living 
animals: leaves of Halimeda and similar Algae in great numbers: Millepore and Polytrema 
fragments: Calcarina and other Foraminifera: one Polyzoon fragment: a little bunch of 
Hydroid remains. The rest of the sample was sand composed mainly of fragments of any 
of the above. 
“The contents appear to indicate that the animal may browse directly on sedentary 
animals and plants besides taking in sand quite, as it were, passively.” 
A second specimen from the same locality was too macerated for accurate measurements 
but it was certainly not smaller than the above. 
Locality. Hulule, Male Atoll, Maldive Islands. This is not far from the centre of the 
known area of distribution of the species, which extends from New Guinea to the Red 
Sea and as far south as the Isle of Bourbon. 
4. Thalassema moebii Greef. (Plate VI, figs. 3, 3a, 3b.) 
Shipley. Willey’s Zoological Results, Part 111. 1899, p. 350. 
One specimen, 6 cm. long, lcm. in diameter. In the living specimen the proboscis 
was almost as long as the body, but it contracted to one-fifth the body length in dying. 
The three nephridia were crowded with eggs. Mr Cooper's sketch faithfully reproduces the 
greyish-yellow passing into violet colour of the animal with its violet stripes running spirally 
round the body. Another bottle contained six specimens, taken at the same place as the 
above. This contains a label recording that the specimens were found under stones. <A 
second specimen, from Minikoi, was found “in sand under a loose stone of the boulder zone.” 
Locality. Hulule, Maldive Islands and Minikoi, Laccadive Islands, also recorded from 
Mauritius, Upolu and Amboyna. 
5. Thalassema semoni Fischer. (Plate VI, fig. 4.) 
Shipley. Willey’s Zoological Results, Part ut. 1899, p. 351. 
17—2 
