316 REPORT 1868. 



The discovery of this species in the Shetland sea is of very high 

 interest. It is one of several instances of large conspicuous Mediterra- 

 nean species turning up in 'the great depths of these northern waters, and 

 which as yet are unknown at intermediate localities. S. meridional-is 

 was dredged in 100-140 fathoms, 25-35 miles N.N.W. of Burrafirth 

 Lighthouse, in company with Cidaris papillata, Archaster Parelii, Nor- 

 rnania crassa, Tsodictya laciniosa, liaphioderma coacervata, &c. 



EcJiinocyamus angulosus, Leske, = Echinocyamus pusillus, Forbes, British 

 Starfishes, p. 175. Common. 



Echinarachnius placenta, Gmelin ; Fleming, British Animals, p. 479 ; Forbes, 

 British Starfishes, p. 178. " Isle of Foulah, very rare, Professor Jame- 

 son " (Fleming). 



Order HOLOTHUBOIDEA. 



Psolus phantapus (Linn.). Frequent. The young of this species has been 

 mistaken by British naturalists for P. squama tus of Scandinavian authors, 

 a species which, though several times recorded, has not yet been found 

 in the British seas. 



Psolinus brevis, Forbes & Goodsir. " Discovered by Mr. Goodsir and myself 

 in the Shetland seas, adhering to the stems of Laminarite" (E. Forbes). 

 I believe this genus and species to be founded on the young of a Cu- 

 cumaria. 



Cucumaria frondosa (Gunner). Occurs in marvellous abundance in one par- 

 ticular part of Bressay Sound. " Peter," who was Forbes's dredger, was 

 indeed true to his word when he stated to me no man knew as he did 

 where the " Puddings " were. The contents of the dredge on the very 

 first haul was a sight not soon to be forgotten. It was literally filled 

 with C. frondosa. There rolled out upon the deck thirty or more of 

 these huge, deep purple, smooth, slimy Holothurians, measuring from 

 10 to 18 inches long, in every state of expansion and contraction, evi- 

 dently greatly discomposed at their novel situation, and in their hurry 

 to withdraw their much-branched tentacles and make things as snug as 

 they could, squirting out streams of water from their capacious maws. 



fucicola (Forbes <fe Goodsir). The type specimens were found not un- 

 commonly " in Bressay Sound, Shetland, in 7 fathoms water, adhering 

 to the stems of LaminariaB," and thus in the same locality with C. fron- 

 dosa. Yon Diiben andKoren (Ofversigt af Skandinav. Echinod. p. 294) 

 referred this species to the young of C. frondosa, and their synonymy 

 has been copied by all subsequent writers without inquiry. But the 

 young of C. frondosa is like the adult, in that " corpus, collum et pedum 

 latera teguntur gmnulis calcareis, irregularibus, difformibus, nunquam 

 perforatis," which is not the case with C. fucicola. Specimens of this 

 species, procured by myself in the typical locality, have the skin supplied 

 with calcareous plates, which are very irregular in form and size, but 

 when fully developed are nearly round, rather longer, however, than 

 broad, and perforated with as many as 30-40 holes. The sides of the 

 feet are likewise furnished with the irregular- shaped, elongated, perfo- 

 rated plates common in this position in the different species of the genus ; 

 but these feet-spicules I have also observed sparingly present in the 

 young of C. frondosa, though in the passage above quoted Diiben and 

 Koren deny their existence. 



fusiformis (Forbes & Goodsir). Forbes, British Starfishes, p. 219, = 



Cucumaria elongata, Von Diiben & Koren, Ofversigt af Skandinav, 



