

1 24 THE DEPTHS OF THE SEA. [CHAP. m. 



resembling that of Ophiomyxa, to which genus it 

 seems to be allied. The specimens which have been 

 hitherto procured are scarcely sufficiently perfect to 

 allow of its being thoroughly worked out. The other 

 is a large handsome species of Ljungmans genus 

 OpMopus. The plates covering the disk are small and 

 obscure, and partly masked by a netted membrane. 

 In moderate depths Amphmra balli, THOMPSON, was 

 common, and we now and then dredged a stray 

 example of the beautiful little Ophiopeltls securigera, 

 D. and K., lately added to the Shetland fauna by 

 the Rev. A. Merle Norman. 



It was a matter of some surprise to us as well as 

 of great pleasure to bring up in many of our cold 

 area hauls considerable numbers of the handsomest 

 of the northern free crinoids, Antedon escrichtii. 

 So far as I am aware, this species has not hitherto 

 been met with in the Scandinavian or Spitzbergen 

 seas ; all our museum specimens come from Green 

 land or Labrador. This is also the case with Cteno- 

 discus crispatus. In neither instance do the speci 

 mens from the north of Scotland appear to be quite 

 so large as those from Greenland. One or two 

 hauls in moderate water gave us abundant examples 

 of Antedon celticus, BARRETT, a form still more com 

 mon however in the Minch ; and almost every haul 

 we found a broken specimen or some fragments of 

 Antedon sarsii. 



Once or twice we found a fragment of the stem, of 

 Rhizocrinus, but singularly enough no living specimen 

 of this interesting little crinoid rewarded us from the 

 cold water, although our conclusion seemed to be 

 just, that the Arctic indraught sets into the Fseroe 



