Publicly accessible
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copyright 1965, by Victoria University of Wellington
All unambiguous end-of-line hyphens have been removed and the trailing part of a word has been joined to the preceding line, except in the case of those words that break over a page.
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Present address: U.S. National Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 20560, U.S.A.
The bathyal holothurian fauna is now known to comprise 21 genera and 24 species, of which 10 species are new records for the New Zealand region. Recent bathyal collections have revealed two new genera and five new species, which have been described elsewhere (Pawson,
The New Zealand shelf contributes little to the bathyal fauna, which is partly of cosmopolitan aspect, and also contains many elements of the Indo-west-Pacific deep water holothurian fauna. There is no evidence of bipolarity.
In
Enypniastes eximia Theel. Station 169 (37° 34′ S., 179° 22′ E., 700 fathoms) was rather more fruitful, and the following holothurian species were taken:
Since the publication of these discoveries (Theel, Paracaudina chilensis (Müller) was described from the bathyal zone in Cook Strait (Pawson,
Throughout this account the bathyal zone (= archibenthal) is taken to comprise the continental slope of New Zealand, from the edge of the shelf (at a depth of ca. 180 metres) to the abyssal zone (4,000 metres).
For access to material I would like to thank the following: Professor L. R. Richardson, formerly of the Department of Zoology, Victoria University of Wellington; Dr R. B. Pike, formerly of the Fisheries Laboratory, Marine Department; Dr R. K. Dell, Dominion Museum; Mr J. W. Brodie, New Zealand Oceanographic Institute; and Dr J. B. Gilpin-Brown, Auckland University. I am also grateful to
Species new to the fauna are marked with an asterisk (*).
Order DACTYLOCHIROTIDA
Order DENDROCHIROTIDA
Order MOLPADIDA
Order APODIDA
Order ASPIDOCHIROTIDA
Order ELASIPODIDA
The writer (Pawson, Stichopus mollis (Hutton), Pentadactyla longidentis (Hutton) and Heterothyone alba (Hutton) are shelf species which may have entered deep water accidentally, and these are not treated here.
Bathyal holothurians now known from the New Zealand region comprise 21 genera and 24 species. Elasipodida (nine genera, nine species) and Molpadida (four genera and seven, perhaps eight species) are particularly well represented, while the number of synallactid aspidochirotes (two genera and two species) is surprisingly small.
Dell (Paracaudina chilensis (bathymetric range 0–990 metres) and Heteromolpadia marenzelleri (bathymetric range 25–1,260 metres) are common both on the shelf and in bathyal depths.
Further sampling of the deep bathyal and abyssal zones is needed before the vertical distribution of the New Zealand holothurians can be properly evaluated.
The bathyal holothurian fauna of the New Zealand region comprises an assemblage of genera and species which are in general widely distributed in the Pacific Ocean, or are cosmopolitan. Most of the genera are shared with the Indo-west-Pacific, and the similarity to the fauna of the Indo-west-Pacific region is also evident at the specific level. This is true also for the shelf echinoderm genera (Fell,
The presence of northern Atlantic species in the New Zealand fauna is notable, but such forms as Benthogone rosea and Echinocucumis hispida are probably rather more widespread species than has formerly been supposed.
The material forming the basis of this report has been collected by various institutions, as follows:
Department of Zoology, Victoria University of Wellington Deep water investigations in Cook Strait have revealed four bathyal species of holothurians, namely Paracaudina chilensis (Müller), Molpadia violacea (Studer), Heteromolpadia marenzelleri (Theel), and Benthodytes hystrix Sluiter. The first three of these species are considered in detail elsewhere (Pawson,
Diagnosis: Tentacles 8–30 in number, not branched but digitiform or digitate, the digits sometimes bifurcate. Retractor muscles, tubefeet and respiratory trees present. Calcareous ring simple, lacking complex posterior processes. Body U-shaped, enclosed in a test comprising imbricate plates.
Remarks: Of the three families (Ypsilothuriidae, Rhopalodinidae and Vaneyellidae) included in this order (Pawson and Fell,
Diagnosis: Spherical to U-shaped holothurians, with eight to ten tentacles, of which two are much larger than the others. Calcareous deposits large plates each with a spiny spire. Tube feet slightly developed, usually placed along the radii. (Partly after Heding,
Remarks: Heding (Ypsilothuria Parrier and Echinocucumis Sars, both of which are distinguished from the Cucumariidae in possessing the unique scales in the bodywall together with simple finger-shaped tentacles, of which two are usually larger than the rest.
Panning (Ekmocucumis Heding, Abyssocucumis Heding, Psolicucumis Heding, Staurocucumis Ekman and Ypsilocucumis Panning. Ypsilocucumis was proposed (Panning, Echinocucumis asperrima Theel. Deichman (Sphaerothuria, while Heding (Echinocucumis". In his diagnosis of the genus, Panning (E. asperrima has ten tentacles, and that in the bodywall there are large plates composed of many layers. Ypsilothuria (= Sphaerothuria) has eight tentacles according to Heding (Ypsilothuria has "always ... eight tentacles", it is probably desirable to maintain the genus Ypsilocucumis Panning.
The remainder of the genera included in this group by Panning (Ypsilothuria, Echinocucumis and Ypsilocucumis, and I feel that they should be separated from the Ypsilothuriidae and replaced in the Dendrochirotida; they may constitute a family in themselves. As the status of some of these genera is in doubt (vide Clark and Deichmann, incertae sedis. A comparative study of these rather unusual holothurians is urgently required.
Sphaerothuria Ludwig,
Diagnosis: Tentacles eight, lateral tentacles enlarged. Body U-shaped, mouth and anus dorsal. Body invested in large (ca. 1mm diameter) thick scales composed of many layers of calcareous material. Each scale carries a long spire at or near its centre.
Type Species: Y. talismani Perrier.
Sphaerothuria bitentaculataLudwig,1893 , p. 112; Ludwig,1894 , p. 141, P1. 12, figs. 16–17, P1. 14, figs. 5–14; Mitsukuri,1897 , p. 149; Koehler,1898 , p. 384; Sluiter,1901b , p. 115; Ohshima,1915 , p. 266; Deichmann,1930 , p. 152, P1. 19, figs. 4–5; Ludwig and Heding,1935 , p. 196; Baranova,1957 , p. 242.
Ypsilothuria bitentaculataKoehler and Vaney,1905 , p. 87; Heding,1942 , p. 28; Panning,1949 , p. 455.
Material Examined: Dominion Museum Stn. B.S.201, 2 specimens + fragment of juvenile; B.S.202, 1 specimen + fragment of adult.
Description: Body subglobular, anterior and posterior ends drawn out to form short "siphons" (Text-fig. 1, fig. 3); anterior (oral) siphon wider than posterior siphon. Length measured about greater curvature 32, 25 and 24mm, horizontal diameter 10, 8 and 9mm respectively. Bodywall with numerous projecting spines; prickly to touch; tubefeet rare, restricted to radii, more common on siphons than elsewhere. Colour in alcohol, greyish-white to light brown.
Fragment of juvenile with anal and oral siphons intact; distance between them 2mm.
Tentacles typical, with two lateral tentacles much larger than rest. Internal anatomy is similar to that in Echinocucumis hispida (Barrett) (Text-fig. 2, fig. 1).
Body invested in overlapping spired scales, each scale composed of many layers of calcareous material, which forms a reticulated network. Scales of varying shape (Text-fig. 1, fig. 4), usually oval, of average diameter 1.2mm. An almost solid spiny spire arises from centre, or near centre of each scale; spires have an average height of 0.5mm. In anterior and posterior siphons, scales reduced to form simple perforated plates (Text-fig. 1, fig. 5) of average length 0.7mm which lack spires.
Largest tentacles contain straight or curved narrow plates of average length 0.13mm, with many short and blunt projections along their length, and a few perforations (Text-fig. 1, fig. 2).
Remarks: Ludwig (
Ypsilothuria bitentaculata has been recorded from numerous localities in the Pacific Ocean (see Ohshima, Y. bitentaculata has a considerable bathymetric range, in temperate regions the animal lives in depths not exceeding about 700 metres. Heding (Ypsilothuria (= Sphaerothuria) attenuata
Y. bitentaculata, and notes that this form is "distributed in the abyssal parts of the Atlantic, from Davis Strait to the type locality off Senegal". In the same paper Heding erects another variety, Y. bitentaculata var. virginiensis, for a specimen collected in the West Indies at a depth of 375 metres.
Clearly, Y. bitentaculata is a cosmopolitan species, capable of some variation in the form of its deposits, but, nevertheless, well defined and readily recognisable.
Diagnosis: Tentacles 10, unequal in size. Body spherical; mouth and anus placed at ends of non-retractile tubes. Pedicels scarce, slender, threadlike, restricted to ambulacra. Body covered by very large scales (diameter greater than 1mm), perforated by numerous regular holes. Scales single-layered, never built up into several layers of reticulated network. Most scales with a single long spire placed near margin. (Partly after Deichmann,
Type Species: Echinocucumis hispida (Barrett).
Remarks: This genus, as well as Ypsilothuria, is remarkable in possessing large overlapping spired scales in the bodywall, which give the body rigidity, and a characteristic shape.
Two species, the type and E. paratypica Heding, are known. The latter was described from material collected off East Africa in a depth of 1,289 metres.
Eupyrgus hispidusBarrett,1856 , 46, Pl. 4, figs. 1 a-b.
Echinocucumis typicaSars,1861 , p. 102, Pl. 10, figs. 11–20, Pl. 11, figs. 1–17; Pourtales,1869 , p. 359; Theel,1886a , p. 118; Theel,1886b , p. 9, fig. 3; Herouard,1923 , p. 118.
Cucumaria typicaLudwig,1901 , p. 149.
Echinocucumis hispida:Mortensen,1927 , p. 404, figs. 242 (1), 243; Deichmann,1930 , p. 150; Ludwig and Heding,1935 , p. 167; Heding,1942 , p. 29, figs. 31, 32; Panning,1949 , p. 454.
Material Examined: N.Z.O.I. Stn. G.603, 2 specimens.
Description: Both specimens U-shaped (Text-fig. 1, fig. 1), total length (measured about greater curvature of body) 50mm in one specimen, 40mm in the other. Oral extremity in both specimens 2.5mm in diameter. Bodywall hard and brittle but thin, with numerous elongate spinous projections. Tubefeet present in small numbers confined to radii, more common ventrally, difficult to distinguish from spinous projections. Colour in alcohol greyish-white, darker at extremities. Tentacles fingerlike, conical.
Calcareous ring fragile, each piece with a shallow posterior notch. Intestine long, light yellow, coiled at the middle (Text-fig. 2, fig. 1); rectum transparent, large, supported in "tail" by fine muscle fibres. Respiratory trees three, of which one extends to anterior end of body cavity. Remaining two trunks short, about half length of body cavity. Respiratory caeca simple sacs, sparsely scattered on trunks (Text-fig. 2, fig. 1). At base of one short trunk is a small clump of respiratory caeca. Two elongate, tubular Polian vesicles.
A tuft of short unbranched genital caeca filled with large eggs lies at middle of body (Text-fig. 2, fig. 1). Long genital duct opens to exterior in mid-dorsal interradius, immediately posterior to tentacles.
Intestine, gonad, and (to a lesser extent) respiratory trees held close against lesser curvature of body by a short, fragile dorsal mesentery; thus large portions of body cavity virtually empty. Radial muscles thin strands, retractors well developed.
Calcareous deposits in bodywall exclusively single-layered, oval to rectangular plates (Text-fig. 2, fig. 3), with many perforations and an average length of 1.0mm. Most plates bear a single tall excentric spire, which lies near edge; spire spinous (Text-fig. 2, fig. 2), up to 0.7mm in length, derived from three vertical pillars joined by several crossbars. Smaller perforated plates, lacking spires, also common, especially near anterior and posterior ends of body. Tubefeet pass between plates, not through them. Tentacles contain large numbers of curved rods, of average length 0.3mm, perforated mainly at extremities, and with short blunt projections (Text-fig. 2, fig. 4).
Remarks: These specimens represent Echinocucumis hispida, or a near relative of that species. Some slight differences in the calcareous deposits and internal anatomy between the present specimens and the typical E. hispida are evident. The large spired plates in the New Zealand specimens seem to have more numerous perforations than those in E. hispida from northern waters. In addition Deichmann (E. hispida, while Heding (
Echinocucumis hispida is known from the north-eastern part of the Atlantic Ocean, from the West Indies (as Echinocucumis hispida forma atypica Deichmann) and from east of New Zealand. The species is presumably cosmopolitan, and has a known bathymetric range of about 50 metres to 1,400 metres.
For diagnoses and remarks on included families see Pawson (
Diagnosis: Calcareous deposits include two-armed anchors associated with single perforated anchor plates of varying shapes, which usually have three marginal projections. No rosettes of racquet-shaped plates; no fusiform rods. Phosphatic bodies present, at least in adult specimens.
Type Species: Ankyroderma marenzelleri Theel.
Remarks: This genus was erected (Pawson, Ankyroderma tridens Sluiter, were included.
For synonymy, see Pawson (
Material Examined: Marine Dept., Stn. 2, 2 specimens; Stn. 3, 6 specimens; Stn. 5, 5 specimens; Stn. 16, 2 specimens.
Remarks: Typical specimens, ranging in length from 19mm to 45mm. Colour in alcohol grey, body-wall thin and prickly to the touch. Characteristic anchors, anchor-plates and tables are abundant, and phosphatic deposits are consequently rare.
Distribution: From New Zealand waters in depths ranging between 25 and 720 metres.
Heteromolpadia pikeiPawson,1965b , p. 79, Text-fig. 1, figs. 4–6.
Material Examined: Marine Dept. Stn. 2, 1 specimen; Stn. 21, 1 specimen; Stn. 25, 2 specimens.
Diagnosis: Calcareous deposits include tables, anchors and rosettes of racquet-shaped plates and large fusiform rods in various combinations. Tail deposits elongate to fusiform.
Type Species: Molpadia musculus Risso.
Remarks: Attempts to subdivide the genus Molpadia by Heding (
Molpadia musculusRisso,1826 , p. 293; Clark,1907 , p. 165 (complete list of references); Herouard,1923 , p. 132, Pl. 5, fig 1; Deichmann,1930 , p. 198, Pl. 23, figs. 4–7; Heding,1931 , p. 279; Deichmann,1940 , p. 225, Pl. 40, figs. 1–15.
Ankyroderma loricataPerrier,1902 , p. 535, Pl. 33, figs. 23–28; Herouard,1923 , p. 135.
Molpadia holothurioidesClark,1920 , p. 129.
Eumolpadia asaphesHeding,1935 , p. 42, Pl. 5, figs. 9–10, Pl. 7, fig. 2, Pl. 8, fig. 3, Text-fig. 9.
Material Examined: N.Z.O.I. Stn. 0609, 1 specimen.
Description: Single specimen strongly contracted anteriorly; total length 23mm (probably more in life); oral disc 3mm in diameter; tail 3mm in length (broken, probably about 6mm long in life). Shape typical of the species, skin thin, prickly to touch. Colour in alcohol grey, anterior end slightly lighter.
Calcareous deposits in bodywall (excluding tail), anchors and rosettes of racquet-shaped plates, with perforated plates, closely aggregated, often overlapping. Racquet-shaped plates (Tex-fig. 3, fig. 4) 0.4–0.7mm in length, with 10–25 perforations at broad end; handle usually imperforate. Racquets always aggregated into rosettes of five or six, with broad ends overlapping, diameter of each rosette approximately 1.3mm. Each rosette supports at its centre a single anchor, with a saucer-shaped base and a smooth cylindrical shaft of average length 0.6mm. Distal end of shaft with two anchor arms (Text-fig. 3, fig. 6), smooth, or with one to two serrations near tips. Anchors project above level of bodywall, visible with naked eye. Rosettes and anchors numerous, scattered regularly in skin. Spaces between rosettes completely filled by large perforated plates.
Plates of variable shape (Text-fig. 3, fig. 2), with three large perforations, and often some smaller holes; spires lacking. Some plates tend to become fusiform in shape. Length ranges from 0.3mm to 1.0mm. Tables with three perforations (Text-fig. 3, fig. 3), and their developmental stages, are present. These bear a spire composed of a single rod, with a small distal crown of spines. Average diameter of tables 0.3mm; height of spire 0.15mm.
Phosphatic deposits extremely rare, scattered in very small numbers, light orange in colour. No calcareous deposits in process of dissolution into phosphatic material present.
Tail with great numbers of fusiform rods with two to four small, angular central perforations (Text-fig. 3, fig. 1). Length of rods ranges from 0.55mm to 0.81mm, average length 0.73mm.
Remarks: There is little doubt that this species falls into the M. musculus group as defined by Deichmann (M. musculus, I have assigned the present material to that species. This constitutes
M. musculus from the New Zealand region. M. musculus is cosmopolitan, and has been taken from depths between about 100 and 900 metres.
For synonymy and diagnosis, see Pawson (
Material Examined: None.
Remarks: Molpadia violacea is known from Kerguelen Island (Theel,
This species is considered a synonym of M. musculus by Deichmann (M. musculus has well developed anchors and rosettes of racquet-shaped plates, no trace of these deposits has been found in material of M. violacea from the New Zealand region (Pawson, M. violacea has come to hand, and unless it can be shown that M. violacea did at some stage of its life history have anchors and rosettes, I must regard the species as distinct from M. musculus.
Trochostoma antarcticumTheel,1886a , p. 44, Pl. II, fig. 7; Theel,1886b , p. 16; Herouard,1901 , p. 42; Augustin,1908 , p. 35, Text-fig. 22 a-o.
Molpadia antarctica:Clark,1907 , p. 32, 168; Ohshima,1915 , p. 252.
Material Examined: N.Z.O.I. Stn. 604, 1 specimen.
Description: Total length 20mm, diameter of oral disc 3mm. Tail broken off near base; its length cannot be determined. Bodywall thin, prickly to touch. Colour in alcohol uniformly grey.
Calcareous deposits exclusively tables of average diameter 0.28mm, usually with six or more large perforations (Text-fig. 3, fig. 7); three central perforations usually largest. From centre of each table arises a tall three-pillared spire, pillars united by three or four crossbars. Spires project above level of bodywall, barely visible to naked eye. Tables very closely crowded together, often overlapping. Anchors and anchor plates or rosettes lacking.
Tail with great numbers of elongate three-pillared tables (Text-fig. 3, fig. 5) bearing 4–10 perforations and complex spinous spire. Average length of tables 0.16mm.
Phosphatic deposits present, exceedingly scarce. A small number of tables are in first stages of dissolution into phosphatic material which is very light yellow, therefore easily overlooked.
Remarks : This specimen represents the species as originally described by Theel (
Ohshima's specimen was 33mm in length, and phosphatic deposits were entirely absent, but he noted some tables undergoing a change in colour.
Molpadia antarctica is known from off Chile (Theel,
Material Examined: N.Z.O.I. Stn. B.291, 2 specimens.
Description: Total length of specimens, 38mm and 61mm; body of typical molpadid shape. Colour in alcohol grey, with large numbers of small light red spots, more closely aggregated in smaller specimen. Tail grey.
Calcareous deposits almost completely transformed into phosphatic material (Text-fig. 3, fig. 8), and comprise only tables. No anchors, rosettes or anchor plates. Original shape of tables cannot be accurately determined, but fragments indicate
Molpadia antarctica (Theel). Phosphatic bodies vary greatly in size and shape, aggregated into small, scattered clusters (replacing calcareous deposits), forming red spots visible to naked eye.
Tail with elongate tables bearing three-pillared spires (Text-fig. 3, fig. 9), and numerous (10–16) small perforations. Average length of tail deposits 0.22mm.
Remarks: These specimens clearly represent a species in which the calcareous deposits (apart from those in the tail) are entirely transformed into phosphatic material, probably early in life. It is possible that these are representatives of an undescribed species, closely allied to M. antarctica, although the latter has smaller (0.16mm) tail deposits with fewer perforations (6–10). Clark (M. antarctica with growth but makes no mention of phosphatic deposits. Further the bodywall in present material is quite thin, but not delicate, as in M. antarctica.
Without a better knowledge of the calcareous deposits of the bodywall, it is felt that these specimens should not be assigned to a new species, and for the present they must remain unnamed.
Diagnosis: Tentacles with two pairs of digits. Caudal appendage usually long and slender. Deposits not tables but cups (buttons), perforated plates or irregular rods. (Heding,
Type Species: Paracaudina chilensis (Müller).
For synonymy, see Pawson,
Material Examined: None.
Remarks: A circum-Pacific species, bathymetric range from 0 to more than 900 metres.
Diagnosis: Tentacles with two pairs of digits. Deposits large tables (0.15–0.27mm diameter), with high spires composed of three converging rods.
Type Species: Trochostoma albicans Theel.
Trochostoma albicansTheel,1886a , p 44, Pl. XI, fig. 3.
Trochostoma albicansvar.glabraTheel,1886a , p. 46; Koehler and Vaney,1905 , p. 89; Perrier,1902 , p. 526, Pl. 22, figs. 7–8.
Caudina arenatavar.armataTheel,1886b , p. 17; Gerould,1897 , p. 19, Pl. III, figs. 34–37.
Caudina albicans:Clark,1907 , p. 174, Pl. X, fig. 12; Deichmann,1930 , p. 201, Pl. 24, fig. 1; Heding,1931 , p. 283.
Haplodactyla albicans:Heding,1935 , p. 65, Pl. IV, fig. 9, Pl. V, fig. 17, Pl. VIII, fig. 10.
Hedingia albicans:Deichmann,1938 , p. 112; Madsen,1953 , p. 167; Deichmann,1940 , p. 216.
Material Examined: None.
Remarks: Occurs off New Zealand, south of Iceland, off the north-east coast of U.S.A., the Cape Verdes, Mediterranean Sea, Bay of Bengal in depths ranging from 500 metres to 3,200 metres (Madsen,
Diagnosis: Tentacles simple, digitate or pinnate, retractor muscles, tubefeet and respiratory trees absent. Body vermiform. Calcareous deposits include anchors, anchor plates, wheels and sigmoid rods; sometimes absent.
Remarks: Although the Order Apodida is of cosmopolitan distribution, very few species are found in bathyal depths, and the great majority are littoral forms.
Diagnosis: Calcareous deposits in the form of anchors or anchor plates. Tentacle stalk cylindrical or terete, not becoming widened distally, either with digits along each side for most of its length (pinnate), or with only one or two digits along each side near the tip (digitate).
Remarks: This widespread family is mostly of shallow-water distribution, but some species of the genus Protankyra are known from great depths. In the New Zealand region two species of Protankyra are known, of which one, P. rigida Pawson, has been collected from the bathyal zone.
Protankyra rigida Pawson
Protankyra rigidaPawson,1965b , p. 75, Text-fig. 1, figs. 1–3.
Material Examined: N.Z.O.I. Stn. C166, 1 specimen.
Remarks: This species had been described and discussed elsewhere (Pawson,
Distribution : The single known specimen was collected from off Cape Egmont, New Zealand, at a depth of 180–270 metres.
Diagnosis: Tentacles shield-shaped, retractor muscles absent, respiratory trees and tubefeet present. Calcareous deposits usually in the form of tables or derivatives of tables.
Remarks: Of the three families (Stichopodidae, Holothuriidae and Synallactidae) in this order, one, the Synallactidae, comprises mainly deep-water forms, while the other two are more or less restricted to shallow waters.
Diagnosis : Tentacle ampullae lacking. Respiratory trees usually not connected with a rete mirabile. Stone canal usually in connection with the bodywall, sometimes opening outwards through the bodywall. No Cuvierian organs. Deposits tables; C-shaped bodies may be present and, very rarely, buttons. (After Mortensen,
Remarks: This family is cosmopolitan, comprising mainly deepsea forms. Approximately fifteen genera are recognised at the present time, of which two, Bathyplotes Östergren and Mesothuria Ludwig, are known from the New Zealand region. The genera may be readily distinguished as follows:
Diagnosis: Tentacles 15–20, mouth ventrally turned, anus subdorsal. Ventrolateral radii with feet in one or more rows. Midventral radius naked, or with a small number of feet. Dorsal surface with small papillae more or less distinctly in rows. Genital organs in two tufts. Radial muscles undivided. Deposits tables with cross-shaped disc and spire built up of four rods, usually with several cross beams.
Type Species: Holothuria natans M. Sars.
Remarks: According to Deichmann (Synallactes Ludwig. Bathyplotes is a cosmopolitan genus, containing in excess of twenty species. Known bathymetric range is from 60 metres (B. rubicundus Sluiter) to about 3,000 metres (B. profundens Koehler and Vaney).
Holothuria natansM. Sars,1868 , p. 20.
Stichopus tizardi Theel,1886a , p. 193.
Bathyplotes tizardi:Östergren,1896 , p. 354, Pl. 13, figs. 36–43; Ludwig,1901 , p. 138, Pl. 12, figs. 3–4, Pl. 18, figs. 1–9; Mitsukuri,1912 , p. 35, Text-fig. 8; Ohshima,1915 , p. 224.
Bathyplotes fallaxOstergren,1896 , p. 355.
Bathyplotes natans:Ludwig,1901 , p. 137 (complete list of references); Greig,1921 , p. 7; Mortensen,1924 , p. 220, figs. 105, 106; Mortensen,1927 , p. 384, figs. 228, 229; Deichmann,1930 , p. 100, Pl. 9, figs. 1, 2, 8; Heding,1942 , p. 11, Text-figs. 11, 12 (1–2).
Bathyplotes reptansPerrier,1902 , p. 352, Pl. 12, figs. 3–4, Pl. 18, figs. 1–9.
Material Examined: Marine Dept. Stn. 24, 2 specimens; Stn. 25, 1 specimen; Stn. 27, 4 specimens; Stn. 27, 4 specimens; Stn. 31, 4 specimens; Lower Chalky Sound, 160 fathoms, fragment.
Description : Total length varies between 100mm and 230mm, most specimens over 150mm in length. Body approximately five times as long as broad, flattened ventrally. All specimens with outer layer of bodywall lacking, or partly torn away. Single specimen in fair condition with naked midventral radius; lateral ventral radii each with two rows of irregularly scattered short papillae approximately 2mm in diameter. Papillae soft, lacking calcareous deposits, or at most with a small number of spinous rods. Dorsal surface of body bears small papillae in radii, but arrangement cannot be determined. Tentacles 16–19, surrounding a ventrally turned mouth.
In alcohol, dorsal surface of body with light brown spots of varying size, up to 1.5mm diameter. Ventral surface similar laterally, but at centre bodywall light violet, with brown spots in general approximately half size of those on dorsal side. Tentacles uniformly light to dark brown.
Calcareous ring firm, pieces fused together. Radials notched anteriorly, interradials bluntly pointed (Text-fig. 4, fig. 2). Radial pieces rather larger than interradials, with small anterior projections, one to each side of anterior notch. Both radials and interradials notched posteriorly.
A single bulbous Polian vesicle (Text-fig. 4, fig. 1) arises from ventral side of water-vascular ring. Madreporite small, attached to bodywall, but not deeply embedded. Stone canal a simple, short tube, not coiled. Gonad two bunches of weakly branching caeca (Text-fig. 4, figs. 1, 3), one bunch to each side of dorsal mesentery. Common genital duct 20mm in length, opening to exterior near madreporite. Respiratory trees long (approximately ⅔ length of body), unbranched, slightly flattened tubes, carrying numerous simple respiratory sacs (Text-fig. 4, figs. 1, 7). Trunks arise from a single root; they contain small brown pigment (?) spots along their entire length (Text-fig. 4, fig. 7).
Intestine thin-walled, light to dark brown, describing an S-shaped loop in posterior half of body. Radial longitudinal muscles broad, flat, undivided, dark brown straps. Dorsal radial muscles lie very close together for most of their length (Text-fig. 4, fig. 1); area of mid-dorsal interradius greatly reduced.
Calcareous deposits of bodywall four-armed tables, extremities of arms branching dichotomously, forming terminal perforations. Arm length varies from 0.04mm to 0.08mm. A spire comprising four pillars united by several crossbars arises from centre of each table, at point of union of arms. Spire long, with several crossbars, but sometimes (Text-fig. 4, fig. 4) short, with but one or two crossbars. Average
Tentacles with rods of two types. Large thick prickly rods of average length 0.35mm (Text-fig. 4, fig. 5), sometimes curved or Y-shaped, often with a small number of perforations at extremities, lie in tentacle stems and terminal discs. Smaller curved rods present in tentacle discs (Text-fig. 4, fig. 6) ; these usually bear small spines on greater curvature; lesser curvature smooth. Average length of smaller rods 0.15mm.
Remarks : In features of internal anatomy and calcareous deposits, these specimens most closely resemble the type species of Bathyplotes, to which they have been assigned. The tables with short spines and with large perforations, while not especially typical of B. natans, appear to fall within the range of variation for that species.
Bathyplotes natans is a species with a wide distribution. Ludwig (
Atlantis Herouard, Zygothuria Perrier,
Diagnosis : Gonad comprising only a single tuft. Ventral surface flattened. Tubefeet all over body, or in single or double rows on paired radii. Deposits tables with approximately circular disc bearing large perforations, and a spire composed of three processes united by crossbars.
Type Species: Mesothuria multipes Ludwig.
Remarks: This is a large genus, containing in excess of 25 species, of which several are cosmopolitan in distribution. Deichmann (Zygothuria Perrier (type species Zygothuria lactea (Theel)) as a distinct genus to accommodate the "almost footless" species Z. lactea. Heding (Zygothuria to the status of a subgenus of Mesothuria. It does not now seem necessary to retain Zygothuria, even as a subgeneric name.
Holothuria lacteaTheel,1886a , p. 183;1886b , p. 6.
Holothuria asperaBell,1892 , p. 50.
Zygothuria lacteaPerrier,1902 , p. 322, Pl. XVII, figs. 1–10; Deichmann,1930 , p. 108, Pl. 8, figs. 8–9; Deichmann,1954 , p. 386.
Zygothuria lacteavar.oxyscleraPerrier,1902 , p. 323.
Mesothuria lacteaHerouard, p. 21, Pl. 1, figs. 17–19; Sluiter,1910 , p. 332; Herouard,1923 , p. 13, Pl. 4, figs. 1–3; Mortensen,1927 , p. 382, fig. 227.
Mesothuria (Zygothuria) lactea lacteaHeding,1940 , p. 340, Text-fig. 7 (3); Heding,1942 , p. 9, Text-fig. 9.
Material Examined: None.
Remarks: This species was originally described from specimens collected near New Zealand ("Challenger" Station 169) and near the Azores (Stn. 78), in depths of 1,260 metres and 1,800 metres respectively (Theel, Mesothuria lactea is cosmopolitan, in depths ranging from approximately 700 metres to 5,100 metres.
Diagnosis : Tentacles shield-shaped, retractor muscles and respiratory trees absent. Tubefeet usually present. Body bilaterally symmetrical. Calcareous deposits include pointed rods or their derivatives, wheels, cruciform bodies, or are lacking altogether.
Remarks: Most elasipods are exclusively deep-sea forms, living on a soft bottom, although some species are bathypelagic in habit. As a result of several deep-sea expeditions the elasipods have been well described by many workers (Theel,
Currently, five families are recognised. These may be distinguished as follows:
Of these five families, all but the Deimatidae are so far known from the New Zealand region. It is expected that the Deimatidae will eventually be discovered here, as the family has a cosmopolitan distribution.
Diagnosis: Body elongate, more or less cylindrical. Ventrolateral radii each with large well developed pedicels, distributed throughout the radius. Midventral radius naked, or with some small pedicels. Dorsal processes elongate, flexible, distributed throughout the radii. Calcareous deposits include wheels in large numbers. Gonads branched. Mesenteries as continuous membranes. (After Mortensen,
This family is well defined on the basis of the presence of numerous wheels in all genera. Representatives are found in all depths, and the family is cosmopolitan.
The family Laetmogonidae contains eight genera, of which those known from New Zealand may be distinguished as follows:
Diagnosis : Tentacles 15, large, non-retractile. Ventrolateral pedicels large, in a single row throughout each radius. Midventral radius naked. Dorsal radii each with a crowded series of very numerous retractile slender processes, usually in a double row.
Type Specimen: Ilyodaemon maculatus Theel.
Remarks: The genus is widespread in the Indo-west-Pacific (I. fimbriatus, I. maculatus and I. abstrusus) and off Japan (I. ijimai and I. muriense) in depths ranging between about 159 metres and 1,000 metres. The fact that Ilyodaemon is now known to occur in New Zealand waters considerably extends the known range of distribution, and it seems likely that the genus will be found to have a far wider distribution than formerly has been supposed.
Ilyodaemon embraces five species, which may be distinguished as follows:
Ilyodaemon abstrususSluiter,1901a , p. 24;1901b , p. 69, Pl. IV, figs. 1–3, Pl. IX, fig. 9.
Material Examined: Marine Dept. Stn. 23, 1 specimen; Stn. 31, 4 specimens.
Description: Total length ranges from 108mm to 142mm. Body elongate, approximately four times as long as broad. Bodywall extremely slimy, thick, gelatinous. Midventral radius naked, lateral ventral radii each with a single row of soft triangular processes, of average length 10mm. Processes regularly spaced along radii, numbers varying between 16 and 20 in each radius, although 18 processes is usual number. Lateral dorsal radii each carry approximately 55 pairs of short (5mm long) processes, regularly arranged; thus there are two rows of processes in each dorsal radius. Mouth ventrally turned, anus terminal.
In five specimens tentacle numbers are 11, 10, 15, 14, 14. Anterior end of each specimen damaged, normal tentacle number indeterminate, although there are probably more than 15.
Colour in alcohol dark purple overall, dorsal processes violet, ventrolateral processes lighter in colour. Tentacles dark brown, with leathery circular terminal discs. Intestine purplish-black, describing a large S-shaped loop. Polian vesicle large, bulbous. Gonad consists of small deep purple tufts of caeca.
Calcareous deposits include large wheels, smaller wheel-shaped perforated deposits, spinous rods. Large wheels (Text-fig. 5, fig. 2) regular, with 9–11 spokes and some central perforations. Wheels with 9 spokes (45%), or with 10 (40%), most commonly present. Diameter of wheels ranges from 0.085mm to 0.13mm;
Dorsal processes contain only small wheels in large numbers scattered irregularly. Ventral processes contain large wheels near bases; toward the distal extremities these are replaced by numerous rods of varying shape (Text-fig. 5, fig. 1) up to 0.5mm in length. Some rods bear a few small spines. In stems and discs of tentacles are curved rods (Text-fig. 5, fig. 3) up to 0.6mm long, with weakly spinous ends.
Remarks : These specimens are representatives of Ilyodaemon abstrusus, a species first described by Sluiter (
In the specimen from Marine Dept. Stn. 31, five nematodes were found in the coelomic cavity, near the posterior end of the intestine. They were free and unattached, lying entwined in the small muscle fibres supporting that part of the intestine. Total length of these worms ranges from 16m to 30mm. The colour in alcohol approximates that of the intestine, although two of the specimens are light brown. These specimens are as yet unidentified. This is possibly the first record of the presence of nematodes in an elasipod holothurian.
The relationship between the "host" and its "parasites" is not clear. The intestine of the specimen contained no other nematodes, nor was there any evidence of damage to surrounding tissues in the region in which the nematodes were found. As there are no respiratory trees, it is difficult to imagine how the nematodes came to enter the coelomic cavity, unless they penetrated the wall of the intestine, or somehow entered the water-vascular system.
Diagnosis: Tentacles 20, large, non-retractile. Ventrolateral radii with large pedicels in a single row throughout each radius. Midventral radius with a double row of pedicels. Dorsal surface with a crowded series of very numerous slender processes along each side. Deposits large wheels and small wheel-shaped plates.
Type Species: Pannychia moseleyi Theel.
Remarks: A genus containing five species, of which the type species is wide ranging in the Pacific Ocean in depths of 500–2.000 metres.
Pannychia moseleyiTheel,1882 , p. 88, Pls. XVII, XXXII, figs. 1–13; Ludwig,1894 , p. 95; Sluiter,1901b , p. 71; Mitsukuri,1912 , p. 207; Ohshima,1915 , p. 235; Djakonov, Baranova and Saveljeva,1958 , p. 360.
Material Examined: None.
Remarks: Theel (
Diagnosis: Tentacles 15, large, non-retractile, ventrolateral radii with large pedicels in a single row throughout each radius. Midventral radius naked. Dorsal
Type Species: Laetmogone wyvillethomsoni Theel.
Remarks: This genus contains about ten species, of which two, L. violacea Theel and L. wyvillethomsoni Theel, are known to be cosmopolitan. Deichmann (Laetmogone have been taken in depths ranging from 200 metres to 3,500 metres.
Laetmogone violaceaTheel,1879 , p. 11; Theel,1882 , p. 78, Pl. 13, figs. 1–3, Pl. 36, figs. 20–24, Pl. 42, fig. 2; Perrier,1902 , p. 390, Pl. 19, figs. 1–7; Augustin,1908 , p. 21; Mitsukuri,1912 , p. 192, Pl. 6, figs. 52–54, Text-fig. 36; Ohshima,1915 , p. 237; Greig,1921 , p. 9; Herouard,1923 , p. 37; Mortensen,1927 , p. 361, figs. 213–4; Deichmann,1930 , p. 120; Heding,1942 , p. 14, Text-fig. 14.
Cryodora spongiosaTheel,1879 , p. 9.
Laetmogone spongiosaTheel,1882 , p. 80, Pl. 14, figs. 1–3, Pl. 39, figs. 5–6.
Laetmogone jourdainiPetit,1885 , p. 9.
Laetmogone brogniartiPerrier,1886 , fig. 241.
Material Examined: N.Z.O.I. Stn. C.619, 3 specimens. Marine Dept. Stn. 11, 6 specimens; Stn. 23, 1 specimen; Stn. 27, 3 specimens. Dominion Museum, B.S.209, 1 specimen.
Description: Body elongate, flattened ventrally, about three times as long as broad. Mouth subventral, anus subdorsal. Total length ranges from 57mm (an autoeviscerated specimen) to 102mm. Tentacles 15 (14 in one specimen). Dorsal surface with elongate processes in each radius (Text-fig. 6, fig. 1), ventrolateral radii with short, broad pedicels (Text-fig. 6, fig. 5), midventral radius naked. Colour in alcohol light grey with a purple tinge; dorsal processes dark reddish-purple. Bodywall thick, soft, gelatinous. Tentacles with grey stems and a brown leathery terminal disc.
Dorsal processes up to 25mm long, while ventral pedicels are up to 13mm long. Variation in the number of processes and pedicels is shown in following table:
Average number of dorsal processes 24; ventral pedicels 14.
Fragile calcareous ring a continuous network of calcareous material; radial areas with faint anterior processes for attachment of radial muscles. A thinwalled intestine describes a very large loop (Text-fig. 6, fig. 1) ; cloaca attached to bodywall by some fine muscle fibres. Intestine transparent; cloaca light violet, opaque. Single Polian vesicle elongate, cylindrical (Text-fig. 6, fig. 1), arising from ring vessel in left ventral interradius. Stone canal runs posteriorly for short distance in dorsal mesentery, terminating in a minute nodular madreporite, which opens to exterior near opening of genital duct.
Gonad a large bunch of dichotomously branching genital caeca (Text-fig. 6, fig. 6). Genital duct short, opening to exterior at tip of genital papilla, a short distance from anterior end of body in mid-dorsal interradius. Longitudinal muscles five broad undivided dark brown straps.
Calcareous deposits include wheels, spinous spicules. Wheels of two types, large and small. Large wheels (Text-fig. 6, fig. 8d) typically have 8–9 spokes and average 0.9mm in diameter. Smaller wheels (Text-fig. 6, fig. 8c) have 12–13 spokes, and are 0.05mm in diameter. All wheels approximately saucer-shaped, lying with concave surface facing outwards. Stages in development of large wheels commonly found (Text-fig. 6, fig. 8 a, b). Three- to six-armed spinous deposits of average length 0.1mm are numerous in ventral bodywall, but rare dorsally (Text-fig. 6, fig. 3).
Dorsal processes contain wheels, together with numerous rods and three-armed deposits, often with weakly spinous extremities (Text-fig. 6, fig. 4). Small wheels more common near distal extremities of processes, while large wheels mostly found near bases. In ventrolateral pedicels wheels numerous, and at distal extremity of each pedicel is an "endplate" composed of an aggregation of small, smooth deposits of variable shape (Text-fig. 6, fig. 9), surrounded by a ring of curved spinous rods (Text-fig. 6, fig. 10).
Tentacles contain wheels, as well as spinous rods of variable size (Text-fig. 6, fig. 7). Average length of rods 0.4mm. In walls of genital caeca are small spinous rods of average length 0.2mm.
In dorsal bodywall, a spicule of unusual character, resembling an anchor, was found (Text-fig. 6, fig. 2). This spicule is 0.2mm in length, and is possibly not of holothurian origin.
Remarks: The variation shown by the dorsal processes and ventrolateral pedicels is quite considerable. The spiculation can also vary greatly. Heding (
This is the first record of L. violacea from New Zealand. Its occurrence here is not unexpected, as L. violacea is one of the most widespread of elasipod species, being known from the Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Heding ("L. violacea appears to be a cosmopolitic species, originating from the Indo-Pacific ..." The species is usually confined to deeper waters beyond the continental shelf, and has been taken from depths exceeding 1,800 metres.
Material Examined: Marine Dept. Stn. 32, 1 specimen.
Description: The juvenile elasipod of total length 15mm has calcareous deposits greatly resembling those of Laetmogone violacea. Body contracted, skin thick, gelatinous, translucent, light purple. Lateral ventral pedicels and dorsal processes present, midventral radius naked.
Ventral processes elongate tubefeet, each about 4mm in length; a concave perforated endplate (0.5mm diameter) present, surrounded by curved spinous rods up to 0.5mm in length (Text-fig. 5, fig. 5) and small wheels (Text-fig. 5, fig. 6). Stems packed with spinous rods, which lie tranverse to longitudinal axes of tubefeet. There are 18 processes in left ventral radius, and 11 in right (damaged).
Dorsal processes deep red in colour, up to 6mm in length, with thick gelatinous bases. Processes less numerous than ventral tubefeet, there being only eight in left dorsal radius and nine in right. Calcareous deposits in processes include numerous large and small wheels (Text-fig. 5, figs. 6, 7).
Deposits apparently lacking from ventral side, but wheels common dorsally. Smaller wheels are of average diameter of 0.037mm, with 12 spokes and four
Remarks : There is little doubt that this is a juvenile of an elasipod, of the genus Laetmogone, or a closely allied genus. However, there are some puzzling features about the specimen. The ventral processes are more numerous than the dorsal processes. This is not the case in L. violacea, although it is quite possible that L. violacea does not achieve its full complement of dorsal processes until later in its life history. Moreover, the ventral pedicels of the juvenile specimen exceed in number those of the adult. However, until new material becomes available it seems appropriate to consider this specimen a juvenile of L. violacea.
Diagnosis: Tentacles 15. Body elongate, flattened ventrally, arched dorsally. Midventral radius naked. Lateroventral radii each with approximately 50 narrow, elongate pedicels arranged in a single, often apparently double series. Dorsal radii each with about ten small retractile processes, regularly spaced. Deposits include wheels, circular perforated plates and spinous rods. Wheels and plates tend to be aggregated into scattered heaps on the dorsal side of the body.
Type Species: Bathygone papillatum Pawson.
Remarks: This genus differs from the others in Family Laetmogonidae in possessing peculiar heaps of calcareous deposits in the dorsal side of the body. Also the extremely numerous circular plates, while not unique to this family, are usually found in the papillae or pedicels, and are rare elsewhere.
Bathygone seems most closely related to Laetmogone Theel, differing from that genus in the smaller size of the dorsal papillae, and in the absence of accessory rods and cross-shaped deposits. Bathygone differs from Benthogone Koehler in having smaller ventrolateral processes, and more than one type of deposit in the bodywall.
Bathygone papillatumPawson,1965b , p. 77, figs. 7–11.
Material Examined: Marine Dept. Stn. 20, 7 specimens.
Remarks: This species has already been discussed elsewhere (Pawson,
Diagnosis: Mouth ventral, surrounded by 15–20 tentacles. Body flattened or almost cylindrical. Ventrolateral radii each with a single row of ca. 15 retractile pedicels; midventral radius naked. Dorsal radii with numerous small processes in a single, sometimes double row. Deposits strongly vaulted wheels of one type, with an average diameter of 0.078mm.
Type Species: Benthogone rosea Koehler.
Remarks: This genus is monotypic, differing from other genera in the family Laetmogonidae in possessing wheels of only one type; these are not associated with any other deposits, except in the pedicels. Accessory deposits are spinous rods, which are found in the pedicels, processes and tentacles.
Benthogone roseaKoehler,1896 , p. 114; Pawson,1965a , p. 219, Pl. V, figs. 2–5 (synonymy).
Material Examined: "Tui" Stn. 098–17, 2 specimens.
Remarks: This species is described and discussed elsewhere (Pawson,
Distribution: Off south-west Ireland, 1,200–1,765 metres, Bay of Biscay, off Azores Is., African coast to Cape Verde Islands, 1,000–2,320 metres (Mortensen, B. rosea is widespread in the Atlantic and southern Pacific Oceans.
Diagnosis: Tentacles 12–20. Bodywall thick, gelatinous, completely lacking calcareous deposits. A large brim is usually present anteriorly, and the pelagothuriids have adopted a bathypelagic habit.
This most unusual group of holothurians of bathypelagic habit is represented in New Zealand by a single genus. As Hansen and Madsen (
Diagnosis : Tentacles 20. Body depressed, with extension of bodywall around anterior extremity, constituting a very broad, large flat brim. Dorsal surface with some small projections around margin of brim, also some very small processes on ambulacra. Calcareous deposits lacking. (After Theel,
Type Species: Enypniastes eximia Theel.
Remarks: The three species in this genus are all so far known only from the Pacific Ocean, and E. eximia Theel, in particular, is known from off Japan (Mitsukuri, Enypniastes eximia.
Enypniastes eximiaTheel,1882 , p. 56, Pl. 8, figs. 6, 7; Sluiter,1901b , p. 77, Pl. 2, figs. 8, 9, Pl. 10, fig. 5; Mitsukuri,1912 , p. 215, Pl. 7, figs. 59, 60; Ohshima,1915 , p. 243; Heding,1950 , p. 117.
Material Examined: N.Z.O.I. Stn. 603, 1 specimen.
Description: Single specimen badly damaged, 80mm in length and 55mm broad. Mouth apparently ventral; a large web of tissue projects from anterior end of body. Other external features indistinguishable, but anus appears dorsally placed. Colour in alcohol grey, tentacles purple. Most internal structures missing or lacerated. Small remaining fragment of intestine dark brown, supported by strong mesenteries. Longitudinal muscles pinkish-brown. Calcareous deposits lacking.
Remarks: The general form of this specimen somewhat resembles that of E. eximia Theel, which was described (Theel, E. eximia, and not one of the synonyms referred to by Hansen and Madsen (
Diagnosis: Tentacles 10 to 20. Body elongate, either subcylindrical or depressed; anterior end always depressed. Bodywall thick, forming a brim anteriorly. Lateral ventral radii with a single row of numerous small pedicels. Midventral radius naked, or with double row of minute pedicels. Dorsal surface naked, or with numerous or few large or small processes. Deposits usually four-armed bodies, with inwardly curved arms, often an outer central projection. Mesenteries continuous
This family contains four genera, of which three have a cosmopolitan distribution. The fourth genus (Psycheostrephes) is so far known from a single central Pacific species.
The collection includes two specimens of the genus Benthodytes Theel.
Diagnosis: Midventral radius with a double row of pedicels. Dorsal surface lacking any large appendages.
Type Species: Benthodytes typica Theel.
Remarks: Benthodytes embraces approximately 20 species, of which one, B. typica, has a cosmopolitan distribution, while B. sanguinolenta appears to be confined to the Pacific Ocean. The species are most commonly found at depths of approximately 3,000 metres, and have been taken from depths in excess of 5,000 metres.
Benthodytes hystrixSluiter,1901b , p. 59, Pl. IV, fig. 4, Pl. IX, fig. 10; Heding,1940 , p. 367.
Material Examined: In the collection of the Department of Zoology, Victoria University of Wellington, VUZ 109, off Palliser Bay, 600 fathoms, mud, 2 specimens.
Description: Both specimens extensively damaged externally; some features of external anatomy impossible to determine. One specimen approximately 130mm long, while another approximately 155mm long. Body more or less cylindrical, four to five times as long as broad. Tentacles destroyed in both specimens. Mouth appears to lie on ventral surface of body, a short distance behind anterior end. Anus subdorsal, a large aperture. Bodywall thick, soft, but parts of dorsal side invested in a thin rough layer comprising calcareous deposits. (This layer of calcareous material may have been continuous in living specimens). Layer finely papillate; each papilla contains a calcareous deposit.
Colour in life, "uniformly dark purple". In alcohol, specimens grey ventrally, mottled dark purple dorsally.
The two specimens are a male and a female of same species. In both, oesophagus thin-walled and intestine describes a large S-shaped loop (Text-fig. 7, figs. 1, 2). Cloaca enlarged, attached to bodywall by fine muscle fibres. Entire alimentary canal purplish-black. Longitudinal muscles broad straps, dark brown in male, violet in female. Transverse muscles inconspicuous.
Male damaged anteriorly, lacking water-vascular ring and some related structures, but in female, there is a single cylindrical Polian vesicle 45mm long, which arises from ventral side of water-vascular ring. Dorsally, stone canal emerges from ring vessel, terminating in a small bulbous madreporite, which opens to exterior in dorsal interradius, about 20mm from anterior end of body.
Gonad well developed in both specimens. In male, there are two genital ducts, each about 45mm in length, which subtend short branching tufts of genital caeca. Female has two genital ducts, one being about 30mm long, the other almost twice that length. Genital caeca composed of a small number of conspicuous bifurcate sacs, containing large eggs 0.9–1.1mm in diameter. In male and female, the two genital ducts unite to form a single canal which opens to exterior immediately adjacent to madreporite (Text-fig. 7, figs. 1, 2).
Calcareous deposits present in bodywall, gonad, stone canal and madreporite.
Bodywall with large numbers of four-armed spicules, arms radiating from a central point, which also carries two smaller processes; arms 0.4–0.6mm in length,
Walls of genital ducts and caeca carry three- to five-armed deposits. Those of female (Text-fig. 7, fig. 10) more robust than those of male (Text-fig. 7, fig. 6). Ends of arms smooth or weakly spinous. Developmental stages of these deposits also common (Text-fig. 7, fig. 9).
Madreporite invested in complex meshwork of calcareous material (Text-fig. 7, fig. 3), which also contains four-armed spicules of type found in gonad and genital caeca. Stone canal contains straight rods of average length 0.3mm with spinous extremities (Text-fig. 7, fig. 7), as well as widely scattered four-armed deposits.
Remarks: The specific identity of these specimens is not clear, for external features cannot here be used as a guide in determining the species. The calcareous deposits of the skin and gonads resemble those described by Sluiter (1901) for Benthodytes hystrix, a single specimen collected in the East Indies at a depth of 2,798 metres. Some differences in spiculation, especially in regard to the size of the spicules and certain features of their shape, between the present material and Sluiter's may not be significant, when the unique character of the spicules themselves is considered. Ohshima (1915) notes that B. gotoi has some spicules of exactly the same type as those in B. hystrix, but also has others with an anchor-shaped spire, similar to those in B. anchora Herouard. Theel (1882) illustrates the gonads of male and female of B. abyssicola Theel, and his figures show that the gonads in that species closely resemble those of B. hystrix. It is apparent that sexual dimorphism of this nature is not uncommon throughout the elasipods. The slight differences between the calcareous deposits of male and female in the present material are not important, but it is of considerable importance to have some indication of the range of variation of these deposits.
Distribution: B. hystrix was previously known only from the East Indian region in depths ranging from 768 to 2,798 metres (Sluiter, 1901b, Heding, 1940).
Diagnosis: Tentacles 10, rarely 11 to 12 or 20. Midventral radius naked. Lateral ventral radii each with a single row of pedicels, which may be distributed throughout radius, or confined to posterior half or posterior extremity. Dorsally, a smaller number of long, short or rudimentary processes, more common anteriorly, where they may form a branched or unbranched lobe-like appendage. Calcareous deposits most commonly include straight or slightly curved, C-shaped or horseshoe shaped rods, three-armed spicules; rarely minute net-like plates, rosette-shaped or elliptical bodies. (After Theel, 1882.)
Remarks: This is a large family, containing a dozen nominal genera. The distribution is cosmopolitan in all depths below about 500 metres. Representatives are more common in the Northern Hemisphere.
Two genera are now known to be present in the New Zealand region (Pawson, 1964a). They may be distinguished as follows:
Diagnosis: Body slightly elongate or egg-shaped, at most two and a half times as long as broad; tentacles ten. Anteriorly, dorsal side carries a transverse row of 3–4 papillae, sometimes discrete, sometimes adjoining, sometimes fused into a voluminous transverse four-lobed process. Immediately posterior to papillae a small number of isolated very small papillae present on radii. Ventral radii each with a row of pedicels, usually restricted to posterior half of each radius. Deposits triradiate bodies, together with sigmas. (After Perrier,
Type Species: Periamma roseum Perrier.
Remarks : This genus was formerly known as Periamma Perrier, but the generic name was preoccupied. The new name Amperima was given elsewhere (Pawson, Amperima is cosmopolitan and contains seven species, five of which are known from the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Madsen (
Amperima tuiPawson,1965a , p. 216, Pl. IV, figs. 1–3.
Material Examined: "Tui" Stn. 098–111, 14 specimens; Stn. 098–46, 2 specimens.
Remarks: The species has already been described and discussed elsewhere (Pawson,
Diagnosis : Body elongate to ovate. Tentacles ten. Dorsal surface of body with a small number of processes, restricted to anterior end of body or present anteriorly and posteriorly. Ventrolateral pedicels present in small numbers throughout radii. Midventral radius naked. Deposits include C-shaped spicules, unbranched rods, and three-armed spicules, of which the last two types may be spinous.
Type Species: Scotoplanes globosa Theel.
Remarks: This genus embraces seven species, and is known from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, from 500 metres to depths of approximately 10,000 metres.
Scotoplanes gilpinbrowniPawson,1965a , p. 217, Pl. IV, figs. 4–6.
Material Examined: "Tui" Stn. 003–02, 1 specimen.
Remarks: The species has already been described and discussed elsewhere (Pawson,