CHAP, iv.] THE CRUISES OF THE < PORCUPINE: 171 



flemingii group, but distinguished from E. flemingii 

 by characters which I must regard as of specific 

 value, Echinus microstoma, WYVILLE THOMSON, was 

 common and of large size ; and along with it many 

 very beautiful brightly-coloured examples of the 

 smallest form of E. norvegicus. 



The three species of the Echinothuridae, Calveria 

 hystrix, C. fenestrata, and Phormosoma placenta have 

 as yet been met with in this region only, and they 

 seem to have a wide distribution, stretching at about 

 the same depth and temperature from the Psferoe 

 Islands to the south of Spain. I hear from Pro- 

 fessor Alexander Agassiz that Count Pourtales has 

 dredged fragments of one of the species under nearly 

 similar circumstances in the Strait of Florida. 

 Cribrella sanguinolenta was in thousands, of all 

 colours scarlet, bright orange, and chocolate brown. 

 Several examples were found of a fine Scy 'taster, 

 probably identical with the Asterias canariensis of 

 D'Orbigny, and if so having a southern distribu- 

 tion. The curious little Pedicellaster typicus of 

 Sars was not unfrequent ; a form which looks very 

 much like the young of something else. One small 

 specimen of Pteraster militaris came up from the 

 Holtenia ground, but with the exception of Astro- 

 pecten tenuispinus, which seemed to be more abun- 

 dant than ever, the characteristic arctic echino- 

 derms were absent. We took no examples here of 

 Toxopneustes drobachiensis, Tripylus fragilis, Ar- 

 chaster andromeda, Ctenodiscus crispatus, Astropecten 

 arcticus, Euryale Imkii, Ophioscolex glacialis, or 

 Antedon escrichtii. It is very likely that there may 

 be colonies in the ' warm area ' of some or of all of 



