168 
THE VOYAGE OF ll.M.S. CHALLENGER. 
Station 23. 
At St. Thomas. 
Animals from 
St. Thomas. 
While dredging, two sharks ( Carcharias brachyurus) were caught. One had the 
greater portion of one of its pectoral fins bitten off, apparently by some other shark, 
there being a clean semicircular cut where the jaws had closed and bitten through the tough 
cartilage and muscle. Three specimens of Echeneis remora were attached to the one fish 
and two to the other, and four of these were hauled on board still maintaining their hold. 
While the sharks were struggling in the water at the end of the line, they frequently 
shifted their position on the fish. The belty of Eclieneis is dark, and at first sight it is 
difficult, to persuade one’s self that the back is not uppermost, and the sucker on the 
ventral surface. The fish adheres so tightly to a table that it is impossible to pull it off 
by exerting a vertical strain. 
The Challenger remained at anchor at St. Thomas from 1.30 p.m. on March 16 till 
4 p.m. on March 24, 1873. The following species are recorded in the Zoological 
Reports as having been obtained during the stay by dredging in the steam-pinnace near 
the Island of St. Thomas in shallow water, or by collecting on shore : — 
Reef Corals (Quelch, Zool. pt. 46). 
Oculina diffusa, Lamarck. One specimen (shallow water); obtained also at Bermuda. 
,, varicosa, Lesueur. Obtained also at Bermuda. 
,, recta, n.sp. Two specimens ; obtained at no other locality. 
Cladocora arbuscula (Lesueur). One specimen (shallow water) ; obtained also in 
Simon’s Bay, Cape. 
Pectinia profunda (Dana). One specimen (reefs) ; obtained at no other locality by 
the Challenger. 
I. soph yllia aspera (Duchassaiug and Michelotti). One specimen; obtained at no 
other locality by the Challenger. 
Manicina areolala (Linne). One specimen (reefs, shallow water) ; obtained also in 
Simon’s Bay, Cape. 
Agarieia f raff! is (Dana). Two specimens ; obtained also at Bermuda. 
„ frondosa (1 )uchassaing). One specimen ; obtained at no other locality by 
the Challenger. 
Madrcpora palmata (Lamarck). Several specimens; obtained at no other locality 
by the Challenger. Recorded from Florida Reefs. 
„ prolifera ( Lamarck). One specimen ; obtained at no other locality by 
the Challenger. Recorded from Florida Reefs. 
,, cerricomis (Lamarck). One specimen ; obtained at no other locality by 
the Challenger. Recorded from Florida Reefs. 
Poritcs astrxoides , Lamarck. One specimen ; obtained at no other locality by the 
Challenger. Recorded from West Indies and Florida Reefs. 
