467 
Holothuroidea from Southern Chile — Pawson 
Chirodota purpurea Bell, 1881, p. 101; Lampert, 
1885, p. 236; Lampert, 1886, p. 18, figs. 
17-20; Ludwig, 1886, p. 29. 
Chirodota studerii Theel, 1886^, p. 33. 
Chiridota contorta Ludwig, 1892, p. 359; Lud- 
wig, 1897, p. 217; Ludwig, 1898^, p. 73, 
pi. Ill, figs. 37-42. 
Sigmodota contorta Ostergren, 1898; Sluiter, 
1901 , p. 134. 
Taeniogyrus contortus Clark, 1907, p. 122, pi. 
VII, figs. 8-13; Clark, 1921, p. 165; Ek- 
man, 1925, p. 147; Heding, 1928, p. 311, 
text fig. 66, 1-9; Deichmann, 1947, p. 348. 
DIAGNOSIS: Tentacles 12, with five to seven 
pairs of digits. Wheels (diameter 0.042-0.13 
mm) gathered into well-defined papillae; sig- 
moid hooks large (0.14-0.2 mm long) scattered 
in the skin. Tentacle rods 0.17 mm in length. 
MATERIAL examined: Sta. 73, one specimen. 
remarks: The single specimen is 50 mm in 
total length and has only 11 tentacles. Colour in 
alcohol is a dull, dark brown. The systematic 
position of Taeniogyrus contortus is now quite 
clear as a result of the work of Clark (1907, 
1921) and Heding (1928). 
DISTRIBUTION: The species is known from 
the southern tip of South America, Falkland Is., 
South Georgia, Burwood Bank, and Kerguelen 
Is., to depths of about 200 m. Sluiter (1901) 
recorded Sigmodota contorta from the Java Sea 
at a depth of 82 m. Clark (1921) doubted the 
accuracy of the identification, and it might well 
be that Sluiter ’s material represents yet another 
species. Fisher ( 1907) found a close relative to 
T. contortus in Hawaii. 
DISCUSSION 
1 . The Holothurian Fauna of Southern Chile 
Collections made at 18 stations in the Isla 
Chiloe area revealed only one species, namely 
Athyonidium chilensis, while at least seven shal- 
low-water species are known from this region. 
Athyonidium chilensis is one of the most con- 
spicuous holothurians in Peru and Chile, and Isla 
Chiloe represents the extreme southern limit of 
the range of the species. 
From Puerto Eden to Punta Arenas, 31 sta- 
tions were worked, and holothurians were taken 
from five stations. They were Pseudocnus dubi- 
osus, Stereoderma laevigata, and Psolus pata- 
gonicus. 
By far the most common species here was 
Pseudocnus dubiosus, which was collected in 
numbers at four of the five stations. This species, 
together with Cladodactyla crocea and Stereo- 
derma laevigata, seems to favour the Macro cystis 
zone as a habitat. 
Seven species were found at Isla Navarino 
and the southern regions, at six of the 29 sta- 
tions worked. They were Pseudocnus dubiosus, 
Cladodactyla crocea, Trachythyone lechleri, Ne- 
opsolidium convergens, Chiridota pisanii, Tro- 
chodota purpurea, and Taeniogyrus contortus. 
Of these seven species, three are apodous 
forms. In an account of the marine work carried 
out by the Royal Society Expedition, Prof. Knox 
(personal communication) noted that "one of 
the salient features of the southern region is the 
reduction which has occurred in the number of 
species present,” and he cited the case of species 
of Brachyura (Crustacea), of which there were 
15 at Chepu (Isla Chiloe), and only two in the 
southern regions. This state of affairs clearly 
does not apply to the holothurians, as at least 
14 species are known from the southern region, 
while approximately seven have been recorded 
from the Isla Chiloe area. 
Between Isla Chiloe and Isla Navarino the 
character of the holothurian fauna changes, and 
the number of species gradually increases. There 
are no drastic changes which might indicate a 
provincial pattern, although the number of spe- 
cies shows a definite increase at about 52° S, 
immediately north of the western entrance to 
the Straits of Magellan. 
Apodous species (e.g., Trochodota purpurea, 
Chiridota pisanii, and Taeniogyrus contortus) 
are more numerous in the southern regions than 
elsewhere on the Chile coast, but there is no 
apparent reason why this should be the case. 
The fauna of Chile contains a remarkably 
high percentage of cucumariids (ca. 40%), 
compared with that of New Zealand (33%) 
and Australia (22%). This is a striking feature 
of the fauna, as also is the virtual absence of 
phyllophorids below about 42° S, whereas New 
Zealand has 15%, and Australia 14%. 
2. Relationships of the Fauna 
A. With Australia, New Zealand, and the 
