726 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE NA TIONAL MUSEUM. vol. xxxii. 



Spectahilis. 



Wei 

 ent. 



(levelo]ieil ('artilagiiionH ring pres- 



Interradial pieces of calcareous ring 

 broadly truncate anteriorly; radial pieces 

 rounded anteriorly with large hole. 



Surface of body very rough from the 

 anchors (both iu life and wlien pi-eserved 

 in alcohol ). Anchors lie near surface. 



Characteristic protuberances when pres- 

 ent forming five single series along body. 



Color in life, reddish orange spotted 

 with brown, the brown forming trans- 

 verse more or less interrupted bands; ven- 

 tral surface grayish posteriorly, spotted 

 with whitish and barred with dark gray. 



Glabra. 



Cartilaginous ring absent." (Theel.) 



Interradial pieces tapering anteriorly 

 and subacute; radial pieces angular ante- 

 riorly with small hole. (Semper, PL 

 IV, fig. 80.) 



Surface of body smooth, not rough- 

 ened V>y anchors either in life or when 

 preserved. Anchors deep in the skin. 

 (Semper,'' Sluiter. ) 



Characteristic protuberances when 

 present forming five double series along 

 iDody. (Semper, PI. II. ) 



Color in life, uniform Van Dyke brown; 

 in alcohol, uniform reddish brown or 

 dark brown. (Semper, PI. II, Theel.) 



f'Th^'el states (Challenger Holothurioidea, Pt. 2, p. 20): "Cartilaginous ring 

 absent." Semper does not mention the ring in his original description (Holothu- 

 rien, p. 12), but as he mentions its presence in all the species of Si/najjtnla he 

 described we are led to suppose that the structure is absent in glabra. Further- 

 more, Sluiter, who has described numerous species of Siinaptula (sub nomine Clion- 

 drodcm), places glabra under Euapta, which he would not have done without 

 remark if a cartilaginous ring had been present. Ostergren, who gives primary 

 importance to the cartilaginous ring, did not find it in glabra. 



^This I consider an important difference. Semper says (Holothurien, p. 11, 

 under Synapta beselii): "Bei einer 3 Fuss langen neuen Art, meiner Sgnapta glabra, 

 liegen diese Organe [i. e., the anchors] im Gehen so tief in die Haut eingebettet, 

 dass ich sie wegen ihrer ganz glatten schliipfrigen Haut fiir ganz ankerlos hielt, 

 solange ich die Haut nicht microskopisch untersucht hatte." Under the description 

 of glabra (p. 12) he says: "Hier liegen die Anker * * * so tief in der Haut, 

 dass man sie erst nach dem Tode leicht erkennt, denn selbst unsanfte Beriihrung 

 veranlasst das lebenskr.lftige Thier nicht im IMindesten sie hervorzustrecken, sodass 

 ich langer Zeit das Thier fiir eine riesige Chirodota hielt." 



I handle'l over a hundred Opheodesoma spectabilis in life and can safely affirm that 

 the anchors are iu nowise embedded deep in the skin. They are in evidence as soon 

 as one picks up an animal. 



There is no Si/naphtla with which the present species can be con- 

 fused, on account of the fundamental difference in the form of anchor 

 stock and the presence of numeroits madreporic bodies in combination 

 with 15 tentacles. Several species have been listed as Synapta vlttata^ 

 these species being either Synaptula or Euapta. The Si/naj>ta or 

 Fhtularla, vlttata of Forskal is unknown. Theel lists a 15-tentacled 

 ^''Synapta mttata^'' which has a cartilaginous ring (according to Miiller, 

 although Miiller probably did not know a Fistularia vittata.) Under 



