ZOOLOGY AND BOTANY, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 
391 
Echinoderma. 
Brood. Care in Holothurians.* — Prof. H. Ludwig has discovered 
some new cases of this interesting habit. In Chiridota contorta , in 
which the sexes are separate, the genital tabes function as brood- 
chambers in which the whole development occurs. Thus this species 
is practically viviparous. 
The author also finds f that Psolus antarcticus carries its young on 
the ventral surface which is flattened for creeping purposes. On the 
best specimen there were 22 young ones fastened by their tube-feet to 
the naked area of the sole. By this discovery the number of Holo- 
thurians exhibiting prolonged attachment between the young ones and 
the mother is raised to nine. Five of these are antarctic and one is 
arctic. The relatively large number of antarctic forms is remarkable ; 
but even more interesting is the fact that each of the five has its young 
attached in a different way. In Psolus ephippifer the young develop 
among the dorsal plates; in Cucumaria' crocea on the modified dorsal 
ambulacra ; in Cucumaria Isevigata in ventral pouches ; in Cliirodota 
contorta in the genital tubes ; and in the present case on the ventral 
sole. 
Changes in Calcareous Deposits of Stichopus.j: — Prof. K. Mitsukuri 
has observed interesting changes which occur with advancing age in the 
calcareous bodies in Stichopus japonicus Selenka, of which, it may be 
noted in passing, Theel’s variety typicus is only a growth-stage, and 
Selenka’s Holothuria armata a northern variety. The form of the 
calcareous bodies (apart from the terminal discs and supporting rods 
of the tube-feet, which are not discussed) changes with age. The 
youngest individuals have most perfectly formed large-sized tables, 
and nothing but these. As the animal grows, perfectly formed tables 
decrease in number and size, and occur mixed with various stages of 
arrested development. In fully grown individuals there are only small 
perforated plates, representing merely a small central part of the basal 
disc and without any trace of the spire. In comparison with the thickly 
crowded or even overlapping tables of the young forms, those of the 
adult are sparsely scattered. As Mitsukuri notices, it is unlikely that 
these changes occur only in Stichopus japonicus ; if they are general 
the fact will have an important bearing on the classification of Holo- 
thurians. 
New Zealand Echinoderms.§ — Mr. T. W. Kirk describes a collection 
of these, including Evechinus chloroticus Valenciennes, of which Prof. 
Jeffrey Bell’s E. rarituberculalus is said to be the young form; Ophiopeza 
Danbyi sp. n., distinguishable from all other species of the genus by 
the small number of arm-spines (4) and their large size ; Ampliiura 
pusilla sp. n., very nearly allied to A. constricta Lyman ; Asteropsis 
imperialis sp. n. ; and some others. 
New Species of Asthenosoma.|| — S. Yoshiwara describes two new 
species of these Echinoids — Asthenosoma longispinum , from 313-376 
* Zool. Anzeig., xx. (1897) pp. 217-9. t Tom. cit., pp. 237-9. 
1 Annot. Zool. Japon., i. (1897) pp. 31-42 (3 fig?.). 
§ Journ. Linn. Soc. (Zool.), xxvi. (1897) pp. 186-98 (2 pis.). 
|| Annot. Zool. Japon., i. (1897) pp. 5-11 (1 pi.). 
