VII. 



THE ZOOLOGY OF THE BERMUDAS (continued). 



HOLOTHURIA. 



The animals of this order are in places exceedingly abun- 

 dant ; indeed, excepting the corals, they may be said to consti- 

 tute the most distinctive feature of the fauna of the sand bot- 

 toms. Where other forms are apparently entirely absent, the 

 black masses of the great Stichopus stand out in prominent 

 relief over the white bottom. Motionless, seemingly, during 

 the greater part of their existence, these singular creatures 

 present the appearance of big black blotches on the sand, of 

 which they consume, whether for nourishment or otherwise, 

 vast quantities. All the individuals that were opened had 

 their digestive tracts completely filled with calcareous par- 

 ticles. 



The following are the species of holothurians observed by 

 us, only one of which, I believe, had hitherto been noted from 

 the Bermudas : 



Holothuria Floridana, Pourtales. (Holothuria atra, Jager.) PL 12, figs. 6, 6a, 

 7, 7a. 



I identify with this species five small individuals of an 

 olive-green color which were obtained in Castle Harbor, 

 and which in a general way agree with the description of the 

 species given by Pourtales (Proc. American Assoc., 1851, p. 12). 

 Unfortunately, no figure accompanies the description, and that 

 part which pertains to the calcareous bodies embodied in the 

 skin is too vague to permit of specific determination. Selenka 

 (Zeitschrift fur wissenschqftliche Zoologie, xvii, p. 324, 1867) has 

 supplemented the original description with further details of 



