OCR Text |
Show 1900.] MR. F. P. BEDFORD ON MALAYAN ECHINODERMS. 277 distinctly crenulatecl in their aboral half, as noticed by other observers ; and, as pointed oat by them, it is of interest in connection with tbe fossil species of the genus, e. g. Rhabdocidaris nobilis Desor, found in the Upper Jurassic strata of Europe. 2. DIADEMA SAXATILE Linn. (sp.). For synonymy, vide S. Loven, Bihang till Kongl. Sv. Vet.-Akad. Handl. Bd. xiii. Afd. 4, N o. 5 (1887). References. Th. Studer, Monatsber. d. k. Ak. Wiss. Berlin, Oct. 1880, p. 868. P. de Loriol, M e m . de la Soc. de Phys. &c. de Geneve, t. xxviii. No. 8, 1883, p. 13. P. & F. Sarasin, Ergeb. naturw. Forsch. Ceylon, Bd. i. Hft. 1, 1887. C. Ph. Sluiter, Natuurk. Tijd. v. Ned. Ind. D. xlviii. 1889, pp. 285, 288. G-. W . Field, Johns Hopkins Univ. Circ. vol. xi. N o. 97 (1892). Locality. Singapore and neighbouring islets. Habitat. This species is abundant on the reefs wherever the coral is flourishing. In the daytime several individuals may often be seen congregating together under the shadow of projecting platforms of Madrepora, Turbinaria, or other coral. Unlike Drs. Sluiter and Studer, I have never observed it except in the immediate vicinity of living coral and usually on the outer edge of the reef (cf. Field). As the Drs. Sarasin point out, it is an extremely unpleasant creature to handle owing to the sharpness of its spines, the tips of which break off in the flesh, and when any attempt is made to hold it, it generally retreats to a place of greater security ; when in its natural surroundings I have never noticed any indications of attack or defence unless touched. So far as I know, it is the only Echinoid which is used as an article of food by the Malays of the " Straits." Distribution. The distribution is an extremely wide one throughout both the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific circumtropical zones ; in the north it reaches up to Japan, the Mediterranean, and the Canary Is., and it has been found as far south as the Cape of Good Hope and N.E. Australia, but I cannot find any record of its occurrence from the west coast of America. The species is extremely variable both in form and colouring, but the varieties do not seem to be confined to separate localities. In one young specimen the spines, as described by other observers, are banded with purple and white, the test being purplish black as in adult. The coloration of this species is subject to a very considerable amount of modification, but whether there is really more than one species living iu the district I am unable to state positively. The same uncertainty exists in m y mind as to the Asteroid Pentaceros described later in this paper, and it would require a random selection of a large number of examples in order to settle the question. PROC ZOOL. Soc-1900, No. XIX. 19 |