280 Th. Mortensen. 



The internal anatomy does not show any differences eitlier. In 

 short: there cannot be the slightest doubt that the Cucu- 

 maria minuta described by Lütken is really the young of 

 Cue. frondosa. A specimen from Maine (Packard 1861), identified 

 by Lut ken as Cue. minuta, is also a young C. frondosa. That C. 

 minuta has nothing to do with Cue. glaeialis Ljungm., as Kalischew^- 

 skij (Op. cit. p. 3) is still inclined to think, suggesting that С gla- 

 eialis "nur eine gigantische Kaltwasser -Varietät von Cueumaria mi- 

 nuta (Fabricius) darstellt", seems to me superfluous to discuss in 

 a more detailed manner, C. glaeialis being in several respects (cal- 

 careous corpuscles, viviparity etc.) very different from Cue. frondosa 

 (minuta). 



Quite recently Grieg (Op. cit.) has identified a young Holothu- 

 rian from the II. "Fram" Expedition as Cue. minuta, without expres- 

 sing any doubt about the distinctness of the species. Wishing very 

 much to examine this specimen I applied to Mr. Grieg about it, 

 and he most liberally sent me the specimen for examination. I must 

 state, after having carefully examined it, that I am unable to disting- 

 uish it from the young C. frondosa. What makes this specimen at 

 the first glance look rather different from C. frondosa is the fact 

 that it is white, whereas the young C. frondosa is generally more 

 or less brownish in preserved state. But some of the available 

 young specimens are very nearly white, and all intergradations in 

 colour are found between these and the darkest specimens. I must 

 then suppose that this difference in the colour is due either to 

 individual variation ^ or perhaps only to the preservation. The 

 calcareus corpuscles of the said specimen are exactly like those of 

 C. frondosa: in short — though I have not opened the specimen — 

 I cannot doubt that it is really С frondosa. 



The specimens of C. minuta recorded from Spitzbergen by 

 Ludwig in his List of the Holothurians of the "Olga"- Expedition 

 (Stat. 17) likewise are young specimens of С frondosa, as I can state, 

 the specimens having been lent me for examination from the Biolo- 

 gical Station, Helgoland. I have further received for examination 

 the specimens of "Cueumaria minuta" preserved in the Hamburg 

 and Berlin Museums. Those from the Hamburg Museum (Ost Spitz- 

 bergen, Küken thai, 1889) proved to be altogether Cue. glaeialis^ 

 while those from the Berlin Museum are partly Cue. glaeialis (Ost 

 Spitzbergen, 1 specimen), partly Cue. frondosa (St. 49. Römer u. 

 Schaudinn. Cf. Ludwig. Arktische u. Subarkt. Holothurien. Fauna 



' Dr. Hj. ()stergren kindly informs me that he lias seen white, grown speci- 

 mens of C. frondosa. It is then possible that the present specimen таз' he an 

 alliiiio. 



