4 



JAMES A. GRIEG 



[REP. OF THE "MICHAEL SARS" NORTH 



HOLOTHURIOIDEA. 



Mesothuria verrilli Theel. 



Holotlmria verrilli Theel, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 13, 1886, p. 6. 

 Vs. stat. 25 A, 35 36' N., 8 : 25' W., 2300m., yellow mud. One specimen. 

 '8/s. stat. 35, 27 27' N., 14 52' W., 2603 m., yellow mud. Common. 

 23 /s. stat. 41, 28 8' N., 13' 35' W., 1365 m., yellow mud. Two specimens. 



Koehler 1 ), Herouard' 2 ) and Ludwig 3 ) consider Mesothuria 

 verrilli as a variety of M. intestinalis. Von Marenzeller 4 ) 

 also seems inclined to take this view, while 0stergren 5 ) 

 and R. Perrier 1 ') on the contrary maintain that they are 

 distinct species. Judging from the material at my disposal 

 I fully agree with the two last-mentioned scientists on 

 this matter. 



Mesothuria verrilli was first captured by the "Blake" 

 off the West Indies, 760 to 1797 rfi. It was later taken 

 in the Mediterranean and off the west coasts of Europe 

 and North Africa between 45° 59' and 22° 57' N. 

 Bathymetrical range on the east Atlantic side, 280 to 

 2518 m. 



Mesothuria maroccana R. Perrier 

 (PI. 1, fig. 1). 



Mesothuria maroccana R. Perrier, Comptes Rendus de l'Acad. des Sci., 

 tome 126, 1898, p. 1665. 



,8 /r. stat. 88, 45 26' N., 25 : 45' W.. 3120 m., sand and yellow 

 mud. A somewhat contracted specimen, 59 mm. long, 22 mm. broad, 

 17 mm. thick. The lateral ambulacral papillae are as much as 5 mm. 

 long. Colour gray. The specimen agrees very closely in the 

 arrangement of the ambulacral papillae, the form of the calcareous 

 deposits, etc. with the description that Perrier gives of this species. 



Mesothuria maroccana was hitherto known only 

 from two specimens taken off the west coast of Morocco, 

 2105 to 2200 m.; but the variety of Holothuria murrayi 

 described by Theel 7 ) and collected by the "Challenger" off 

 Gibraltar (stat. 5, 35° 47' N., 8° 23' W., 1995 m., temp. 

 3.6° Cel.) most likely also belongs to this species. The 

 Mesothuria murrayi from the Azores described by 

 Herouard s ) seems likewise to belong to this species. 



') Koehler: Echinodermes, Res. Sci. Camp, du "Caudan", Fasc. 1, 

 1896, p. 106. 



2 ) . Herouard: Holothuries, Res. Camp. Sci., Monaco, Fasc. 21, 

 1902, p. 18. 



3 ) . Ludwig: Ark. und subark. Holothurien, Fauna Arctica, Rd. 1, 

 Lief. 1, 1900, p. 138. 



4 ) . v. Marenzeller: Holothuries, Res. Camp. Sci., Monaco, Fasc 6, 

 1893, p. 7. 



5 ) . 0stergren: Subfamilie Synallactinidae unter den Apsidochiroten. 

 Festskrift fer Lilljeborg, 1896, p. 347. 



6 ) . R. Perrier: Holothuries, Exp. Sci. du "Travailleur" et du 

 "Talisman", 1902, p. 307. 



7 ) . Theel: Holothurioidea 2, Rep. Sci. Res. "Challenger", Zool., 

 vol. 14, part 39, 1885, p. 187, pi. 9, fig. 3. 



8 ) . Op. cit., p. 23. 



Pseudostichopus villosus Theel. 



Pseiidosticliopus villosus Theel, Holothurioidea 2, Rep. Sci. 

 Res. "Challenger", Zool. vol. 14, part 39, 1885, p. 170. 



8 /. ; . stat. 53, 34° 59' N., 33 1' W., 2615 to 2865 m., yellow 

 hard clayey mud. One specimen, length 70 mm., breadth 21 mm. 



The "Challenger" found Pseudostichopus villosus 

 in the northern as well as in the southern part of the 

 Atlantic, also in the Pacific, Antarctic and southern part 

 of the Indian Oceans, 3016 to 5307 m., temp. 0.06 to 

 2.3° Cel. The "Princesse Alice" took it off the west coast 

 of Morocco and the Azores, 3745 to 4360 m. Pseudo- 

 stichopus villosus has therefore a world-wide distribution. 

 According to the explorations of the "Michael Sars" its 

 bathymetrical distribution is now 2615 to 5307 m. 



Bathyplotes tizardi Theel 



Stichopus tizardi Theel, Proc. Roy. Soe. Edinburgh, vol. 11, 



1882, p. 696. 



Vs. stat. 24, 35 34' N., T 35' W., 1615 m„ yellow mud, temp. 

 8 Cel. Two specimens. 



Ludwig („Arktische und subarktische Holothurien", 

 p. 158) gives the range of this species as 44 to 60° N. 

 According to more recent explorations the southern limit 

 must be extended to 20° 41' ("Talisman") and the northern 

 limit to 63°30' N. or to the Trondhjemsfjord. Bathymetrical 

 distribution, 255 to 1615 m. 



Deitna atlanticum Herouard. 

 (PI. 1, figs. 2, 3). 



Deima atlanticum Herouard, Bull. Soc. Zool. de France, vol. 23. 



1898, p. 88. 



31 A>. stat. 48, 28° 54' N., 24' : 14' W., 2800 to 3000 m. One 

 specimen. 



The specimen, 94 mm. long and 63 mm. broad, has 

 11 tube-feet, 3 pair of lateral and 5 pair of dorsal 

 papillae (I have used the term proposed by Ludwig in 

 the Albatross "Holothurioidea") 1 ), 14 tentacles with 2 to 

 8 small retractile processes. Colour of specimen in alcohol 

 white. 



Deima atlanticum was previously taken only by the 

 "Princesse Alice" between Portugal and the Azores (stat. 

 753, 39° 50' to 39° 54' N., 20° 18' to 20° 27' W., 4360 m.). 

 It is closely related to Deima fastosum Theel of the 

 Pacific Ocean and it is also recorded under that name 

 in Murray and Hjort's "Depths of the Ocean" (p. 541, 

 fig. 384). It may, however, be easily distinguished from 

 that species by the absence of a conical knot on the 

 calcareous plates. 



'). Mem. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 17, no. 3, 1894, p.63. 



