COMMON SEA-CUCUMBER. 305 



The Bald Trepang ; 



The Scarlet Trepang ; 



Great Clear-Ball Trepang ; 



The Middle Ash-Bald Trepang, &c., &c. 

 The illustration on Plate XI. gives a good idea of 

 the typical form of the Holothuriadje. It repre- 

 sents a species of the genus Cucumaria, G. com- 

 munis, or common Sea-Cucumber. Its length is 

 from four to eight inches ; but, like all its kindred, 

 it possesses the power of considerably extending or 

 contracting its body at will. The Tentacula are ten 

 in number, pinnate and plumose, stalked and rather 

 large. The body is five-sided, with numerous suckers 

 on the angles, but more on the sides, which are 

 papilose. The colour is yellow, or brownish- white, 

 although specimens found on the Irish coast exhibit 

 a purplish hue. 



This, the most common species of its genus, is an 

 inhabitant of deep water, and is therefore most fre- 

 quently taken with the dredge. Occasionally, speci- 

 mens may be found after violent storms stranded on 

 various parts of the shores of the United Kingdom. 



The Sea-Cucumbers possess the singular power of 

 disembowelling themselves upon the slightest provo- 

 cation, and also of throwing off their Tentacula 

 entire. There is one species, indeed, that exhibits a 

 still more wonderful phenomenon. At certain times 

 members of this species will divide their body into 



a number of parts, each of which will in due course 



20 



