Summary: | A study of ossicle variation in Cucumariidae coming from the Weddell Sea (antarctica), the specimens ranging from 4 to 70 mm long, confirms that Heterocucumis steineni (Ludwig, 1898), Heterocucumis antarctica (Vaney, 1906) and Heterocucumis godfroyi (Vaney, 1914) represent different stages of a single species: H. steineni . A study of Heterocucumis steineni, H. denticulata (Ekman, 1927) and Staurocucumis liouvillei (Vaney, 1914) shows that the main ossicle change occurs early when specimens are 20 mm long or even less. A review of holothurian ossicle variation is given.
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