Dear Colleagues, please see attached.  Dave P.
________________________________
From: Pawson, David
Sent: Monday, June 10, 2013 6:03 PM
To: [log in to unmask]; [log in to unmask]; [log in to unmask]
Subject: Two unknown (?) deep-sea holothurians - any ideas please?


Dear Esteemed Colleagues,

Attached is an image of two holothurians from the northern Gulf of Mexico.  We do not have specimens of these, unfortunately.

   The upper individual is probably about 20 cm long, and is lying on its presumed right side.  It has a thin veneer of sediment on its upper surface, no obvious pygal furrow, some transverse dorsal wrinkles, and ca. 15 large papillae in each ventrolateral radius, which show up in other images as more rounded protuberances... Mesothuria sp??

   The lower individual is perhaps also about 20 cm long, with few scattered fine dorsal papillae, and about a million ventrolateral feet.

    I presume they're both synallactids...?  Any suggestions would be much appreciated, and of course acklnowledged!

  Yours in eternal puzzlement,  and best wishes!  Dave Pawson





David L. Pawson
Senior Research Scientist,
Dept. of Invertebrate Zoology,
Mail Stop MRC163,
Smithsonian Institution,
Washington DC 20013-7012.
Phone; 202-633-1757