Agassis — Albatross Expedition to the Eastern Pacific. 147 



marked contrast to the numerous Echini collected in the 

 Panamic Basin in 1891. We obtained, however, a magnificent 

 collection of Holothurians, nearly every species occurring in 

 the Panamic Basin being found in numbers in our track south 

 of the Galapagos, in the wake of the great Chili-Peruvian cur- 

 rent and at considerable depths. On one occasion, at station 

 4647, in 2005 fathoms, we obtained no less than 16 species of 

 Holothurians, among them brilliantly colored Benthodytes, 

 Psychropotes, Scotoplanes, Euphronides, and the like. At 

 station 4670, in 3209 fathoms, we obtained 6 species of Holo- 

 thurians. At station 4672, in 2845 fathoms, we obtained also 

 very many specimens of three species of Ankyroderma, a large 

 Deima, 2 species of Scotoplanes, 2 of Psychropotes, with a 

 number of young stages of that genus, repeating thus the 

 experience of the Challenger, which found Holothurians at 

 great depth, in abundance not only in the number of speci- 

 mens but also of species, though the Challenger did not in any 

 locality obtain as many as we did at station 4647. Mr. 

 Westergren made a number of sketches of the species which 

 were not obtained in the 1891 Expedition. We also collected 

 in the trawl a number of deep-sea Actinians, none different, 

 however, from genera previously found in the Panamic district. 

 We obtained also a few Pennatulids, Gorgonians, and Anti- 

 pathes, and a very considerable number of silicious sponges, 

 usually associated with the Holothurians found in deep water 

 in the track of the Peruvian current. In the track of the cur- 

 rent at not too great distances from the coast we invariably 

 brought, even from very considerable depths, sticks and twigs 

 and fragments of vegetable matter. On two occasions we 

 brought up in the trawl specimens of Octacnemus. The trawl 

 had been working at 2235 and at 2222 fathoms. Both 

 Moseley and Herdman described this interesting Ascidian as 

 attached to the bottom by a small peduncle. While the pres- 

 ence of the peduncle cannot be denied, yet its attachment, if 

 attached at all, must be of the slightest, its transparent, 

 slightly translucent body, with its eight large lobes, suggesting 

 rather a pelagic type than a sedentary form. This Ascidian 

 ivas discovered by the Challenger west of "Valparaiso. 



Mr. Chamberlain made two daily observations of the density of 

 the water, and found the same discrepancies between our obser- 

 vations and those of 1891, and those given by the Challenger 

 and in the German Atlas of the Pacific Ocean. Whenever we 

 took a serial temperature, he also determined the density at 

 800 fathoms. We occupied six stations for the serial tempera- 

 tures, two on the western termini of the lines normal to the 

 coast across the great Peruvian current, two in the center of 

 the current, and two at a moderate distance from the coast. 

 These serials developed an unusually rapid fall in the tern- 



