Distribution of Littoral Echinoderms of the West Indies. 63 
are as yet nameless. It is obvious, then, that our knolwedge of the 
West Indian littoral holothurians is as yet too fragmentary and un- 
reliable to give value to any deductions with reference to their distribu- 
tion. From the list here given I have excluded 3 of Selenka’s species 
supposed to be from Florida, 4 species of other regions recorded from 
the West Indies, and several of Sluiter’s recently described species 
concerning the status or littoral distribution of which I am still in 
doubt. The 24 holothurians here accepted are the following: 
Euapta lappa (Miiller). Holothuria captiva Ludwig. 
Synaptula hydriformis (Lesueur). cubana Ludwig. 
Leptosynapta acanthia (H. L Clark). densipedes H. L. Clark. 
inherens (O. F. M.). floridana Pourtales. 
roseola Verrill. glaberrima Selenka. 
Chiridota rotifera (Pourtales). grisea Selenka. 
Cucumaria punctata Ludwig. impatiens (Forskaal). 
Thyone briareus (Lesson). rathbuni Lampert. 
fusus (O. F. M.)? surinamensis Ludwig. 
gemmata (Pourtales). Stichopus moebii Semper. 
suspecta Ludwig. Actinopyga agassizii (Selenka). 
Psolidium braziliense (Theel). parvula (Selenka). 
Of the above species, Leptosynapta acanthia and Holothuria densi- 
pedes are known each from only one locality and hence may be elimi- 
nated from any discussion of distribution. The species listed as Thyone 
fusus may also be ignored, for while it was not rare in Buccoo Bay, 
Tobago, the specimens taken were all very small, and it is quite 
improbable that they are really identical with the European fusus. 
Perhaps the same should be said of Psolidiwm braziliense, which 
occurred in coralline algee at Buccoo Bay, with the Thyone. None of 
the specimens taken was nearly large enough to make its identity 
certain. 
Of the remaining 20 species, Holothuria impatiens and Actinopyga 
parvula seem to have a tropicopolitan distribution, but a critical study 
needs to be made to ascertain it precisely 
There are six species which may be called tropical Atlantic, as their 
range extends from Bermuda or South Carolina to Brazil. They are: 
Synaptula hydriformis. Holothuria grisea. 
Chiridota rotifera. rathbuni. 
Thyone gemmata. surinamensis. 
The first two of these are unmistakable and there is no doubt about 
their range, but the Thyone is by no means unmistakable and it is not 
certain that the Carolinian and Brazilian records refer to the same 
species. The status of H. grisea is somewhat uncertain, as it is very 
possibly only the young of H.floridana; it is recorded from the eastern 
Atlantic as well as from Brazil. Both of the other holothurias are 
well-characterized species and certainly occur at Bermuda, while they 
