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Fundamentals of Financial Markets and Institutions in Australia 1St Edition Valentine Test Bank Full Chapter PDF
Fundamentals of Financial Markets and Institutions in Australia 1St Edition Valentine Test Bank Full Chapter PDF
Name___________________________________
MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question.
1) If business investment increases and other factors remain constant, the economy's interest rate will: 1)
A) rise.
B) remain unchanged.
C) fall.
D) It depends on what industry the investment is in.
Answer: A
Explanation: A)
B)
C)
D)
2) Suppose the central bank increases the money supply. Whether inflation increases as a result will 2)
depend on:
A) the yield curve.
B) the media reaction.
C) the degree of capacity utilisation in the economy.
D) the level of the exchange rate.
Answer: C
Explanation: A)
B)
C)
D)
3) Which of the following is NOT a means by which the RBA can adjust the amount of cash in the 3)
financial system each day?
A) Issuing 'repos'. B) Altering the velocity of money.
C) Selling government bonds. D) Buying foreign exchange.
Answer: B
Explanation: A)
B)
C)
D)
4) The set of channels through which changes in monetary policy instruments affect the economy is 4)
known as the:
A) regulatory structure. B) transmission mechanism.
C) velocity of money. D) money base.
Answer: B
Explanation: A)
B)
C)
D)
1
5) M1 is equal to: 5)
A) Currency + Cheque deposits + Bank deposits.
B) Currency - Cheque deposits.
C) Currency + Cheque deposits.
D) none of the above.
Answer: C
Explanation: A)
B)
C)
D)
6) For policy based on monetary aggregates to be successful, which of the following variables needs to 6)
remain fairly constant?
A) V B) P C) M D) Y
Answer: A
Explanation: A)
B)
C)
D)
8) The RBA is required to determine its monetary and banking policy so as to: 8)
A) achieve the maintenance of full employment.
B) achieve the stability of the Australian currency.
C) contribute to the economic prosperity and welfare of the people.
D) all of the above.
Answer: D
Explanation: A)
B)
C)
D)
2
9) The statement that 'official transactions were undertaken in the domestic money market to offset 9)
effects on liquidity of official transactions in the foreign exchange market' most closely describes:
A) immunisation of the RBA's portfolio.
B) modification of the velocity of money.
C) interest rate targeting.
D) sterilisation of foreign exchange operations.
Answer: D
Explanation: A)
B)
C)
D)
11) In the transmission of monetary policy to the economy, a rise in interest rates will result in: 11)
A) lower household saving. B) lower business investment.
C) higher inflation. D) rising asset prices.
Answer: B
Explanation: A)
B)
C)
D)
13) Who sets the overnight rate in the interbank market (the cash rate) in Australia? 13)
A) RBA. B) The traders in Sydney.
C) The Finance minister. D) The commercial banks.
Answer: A
Explanation: A)
B)
C)
D)
3
14) Which of the following best describes the 'real' interest rate? 14)
A) The rate of return on an investment expressed in monetary terms.
B) The rate of return after deducting tax liability.
C) The effective return after taking into account compounding effects.
D) The return on an investment after the effects of inflation are taken into account.
Answer: D
Explanation: A)
B)
C)
D)
16) Which of the following policies can be used to prevent the growth of asset price bubbles? 16)
A) Banks and other lenders can be required to adopt conservative loan-to-valuation ratios
(LVRs).
B) The use of 'circuit breakers'.
C) The tax regime could be altered to make speculation in assets less attractive.
D) All of the above'
Answer: D
Explanation: A)
B)
C)
D)
4
18) M3 is equal to: 18)
A) Currency + Cheque deposits.
B) Currency + Cheque deposits + Bank deposits.
C) Currency + Bank deposits.
D) none of the above.
Answer: C
Explanation: A)
B)
C)
D)
20) Which of the following theories explains the shape of the yield curve? 20)
A) Expectations theory. B) Segmented market theory.
C) Liquidity or risk premium. D) All of the above.
Answer: D
Explanation: A)
B)
C)
D)
21) Which of the following variables appears in the balance sheet of the RBA? 21)
A) ESA. B) FX.
C) Australian dollar securities. D) All of the above.
Answer: D
Explanation: A)
B)
C)
D)
22) Which of the following is NOT an ultimate target of central banks' monetary policy? 22)
A) Lower unemployment. B) Lower budget deficit.
C) Higher economic growth. D) Lower inflation.
Answer: B
Explanation: A)
B)
C)
D)
5
23) The money base is equal to: 23)
A) currency + balances in ESAs + other liabilities of the RBA to the private sector.
B) currency + balances in ESAs.
C) currency + balances in ESAs - other liabilities of the RBA to the private sector.
D) currency - balances in ESAs - other liabilities of the RBA to the private sector.
Answer: A
Explanation: A)
B)
C)
D)
25) If $100 is invested for one year at 8% p.a. and inflation during the same period is 3%, the real value 25)
of the investment at the end of the year is:
A) $104.85. B) $103.00. C) $104.76. D) $105.00.
Answer: A
Explanation: A)
B)
C)
D)
27) The date when Australian policymakers started to operate with a medium-term flexible target for 27)
inflation was:
A) 1989. B) 1983. C) 1993. D) 1997.
Answer: C
Explanation: A)
B)
C)
D)
6
28) Which options are open to a central bank? 28)
A) Setting interest rates.
B) Setting monetary growth.
C) Setting both interest rates and monetary growth.
D) Setting interest rates or setting monetary growth, but not both.
Answer: D
Explanation: A)
B)
C)
D)
29) The sector of the economy most likely to demand funds from the capital market rather than supply 29)
them is the ________ sector.
A) household B) corporate C) government D) overseas
Answer: B
Explanation: A)
B)
C)
D)
30) A university student last year borrowed at a 10% interest rate when inflation was 5%. This year she 30)
borrows at 15% and inflation is 10%. Compared with last year, the student is:
A) in a higher tax bracket. B) better off.
C) worse off. D) the same.
Answer: D
Explanation: A)
B)
C)
D)
32) A policy instrument over which the authorities have complete control is: 32)
A) the stock market index. B) the cash rate.
C) monetary aggregates. D) the exchange rate.
Answer: B
Explanation: A)
B)
C)
D)
7
TRUE/FALSE. Write 'T' if the statement is true and 'F' if the statement is false.
33) In Australia, business borrowers receive a full tax deduction but individual borrowers receive no 33)
deduction.
Answer: True False
Explanation:
34) Under a fixed exchange rate, if there is an excess supply of foreign currency the authorities must 34)
sell the excess.
Answer: True False
Explanation:
35) By introducing ceilings on bank lending and deposit rates, it promoted interest rate flexibility. 35)
Answer: True False
Explanation:
36) A consumption tax such as the GST falls on expenditure only and therefore should help increase 36)
saving.
Answer: True False
Explanation:
37) The cost of changing a monetary policy instrument increases with the size of the change. 37)
Answer: True False
Explanation:
38) The Fisher Equation demonstrates that in the presence of both inflation and taxes the real after-tax 38)
interest rate will always be negative.
Answer: True False
Explanation:
39) Monetary policy is not the only policy available for tackling asset price bubbles. 39)
Answer: True False
Explanation:
40) In the transmission mechanism, an appreciation of the exchange rate leads to higher exports and 40)
lower imports which in turn lifts economic growth.
Answer: True False
Explanation:
41) The velocity of money will be unstable if banks make a sharp change in the amount of cash they 41)
hold.
Answer: True False
Explanation:
42) If a university student performs a higher number of transactions each year using the same amount 42)
of cash, there has been an increase in her velocity of money.
Answer: True False
Explanation:
8
43) The central bank in Australia is less independent of the central government than is the case in many 43)
other countries.
Answer: True False
Explanation:
44) An increase in interest rates makes the creation of new assets more attractive. 44)
Answer: True False
Explanation:
45) The Hong Kong dollar is pegged to the UK pound sterling. 45)
Answer: True False
Explanation:
46) The main implication for monetary policy of financial deregulation is that it generates structural 46)
change in the financial sector and therefore an interest rate target is more appropriate than a money
stock target.
Answer: True False
Explanation:
47) Changes in interest rates also have efficiency and consumer welfare effects. 47)
Answer: True False
Explanation:
48) The 'real after-tax' rate of interest is equal to: r - (1-t)P where r is the nominal rate of interest, t is 48)
the investor's marginal tax rate and P is the inflation rate.
Answer: True False
Explanation:
49) In the environment of deregulation there is a question mark over the need for active monetary 49)
policy.
Answer: True False
Explanation:
50) Under a fixed exchange rate regime, the evidence shows that the authorities lose control of 50)
domestic monetary conditions.
Answer: True False
Explanation:
51) The information on intermediate targets is available later than that for ultimate targets. 51)
Answer: True False
Explanation:
52) If we have high capital mobility and a fixed exchange rate regime, the authorities can run an 52)
independent domestic monetary policy.
Answer: True False
Explanation:
9
53) By removing or easing the 'captive market' requirements on financial institutions which forced 53)
them to hold government bonds, it gave the institutions the ability to trade in the securities.
Answer: True False
Explanation:
54) For monetary policy based on the money stock to succeed, we need the money multiplier to vary 54)
significantly in response to policy actions.
Answer: True False
Explanation:
55) It is important that the RBA adopt a consistent and transparent approach to monetary policy so that 55)
economic agents can form valid expectations.
Answer: True False
Explanation:
56) Other things equal, a rise in saving by Australian households will lead to a fall in interest rates. 56)
Answer: True False
Explanation:
57) Monetary policy based on monetary aggregates operates first on income (Y), which then impacts on 57)
money supply (M), which in turn affects the money base (MB).
Answer: True False
Explanation:
58) The velocity of money equals the speed with which a change in the cash rate reaches the wider 58)
economy via the transmission mechanism.
Answer: True False
Explanation:
59) When the RBA buys bonds from the market, it withdraws liquidity from the system. 59)
Answer: True False
Explanation:
60) Over the period 1985 to 1995, Australia had a 'crawling peg' exchange rate regime. 60)
Answer: True False
Explanation:
62) Assume that a monetary growth target has been set at 6-8% per annum. If the outcome is 10% 62)
money growth, the target has not only been achieved but has been bettered.
Answer: True False
Explanation:
63) Over the period 1976 to 1983 Australia had a 'crawling peg' exchange rate regime. 63)
Answer: True False
Explanation:
10
64) In order to set the interest rate, the authorities must fix the rate of monetary growth. 64)
Answer: True False
Explanation:
65) Monetary policy is an important tool used by governments to influence economic activity. 65)
Answer: True False
Explanation:
ESSAY. Write your answer in the space provided or on a separate sheet of paper.
11
70) Discuss the issues raised by the relationship between the targets of monetary policy and the instruments
available to achieve those targets.
Answer: Your answer should begin by defining the difference between 'ultimate targets' and 'intermediate targets'.
The former are variables which the authorities aim to influence because of their impact on community
welfare, while the latter are variables that are of interest because of their effect on ultimate targets rather
than being significant in themselves. Examples of ultimate targets are inflation and unemployment.
Examples of intermediate targets are interest rates and monetary aggregates. The instruments are those
variables that the RBA can influence. If there are N targets, we need at least N instruments. Some
instruments are more efficient than others, and the RBA needs to think carefully about minimising the
cost of policy and maximising its effectiveness. This is aided by the assignment of instruments to
particular targets. In Australia, the main instrument is the cash rate and this is assigned to targeting
inflation. The nature of economic shocks is another consideration. In the face of real shocks the
authorities obtain better results using a monetary target, while in a monetary shock it is better to use
interest rate targeting. The exchange is an important consideration, since it too can be used as an
instrument and plays a role in the transmission mechanism.
12
Answer Key
Testname: C7
1) A
2) C
3) B
4) B
5) C
6) A
7) C
8) D
9) D
10) D
11) B
12) A
13) A
14) D
15) C
16) D
17) C
18) C
19) D
20) D
21) D
22) B
23) A
24) C
25) A
26) A
27) C
28) D
29) B
30) D
31) A
32) B
33) TRUE
34) FALSE
35) FALSE
36) TRUE
37) TRUE
38) FALSE
39) TRUE
40) FALSE
41) TRUE
42) TRUE
43) TRUE
44) FALSE
45) FALSE
46) TRUE
47) TRUE
48) FALSE
49) TRUE
50) TRUE
13
Answer Key
Testname: C7
51) FALSE
52) FALSE
53) TRUE
54) FALSE
55) TRUE
56) TRUE
57) FALSE
58) FALSE
59) FALSE
60) FALSE
61) TRUE
62) FALSE
63) TRUE
64) FALSE
65) TRUE
66) An asset price bubble is the increase in price of an asset or range of assets which is not justified by changes in the
variables that normally determine the intrinsic value of the asset.
67) The main steps in the process are as follows. First, the RBA formulates its monetary policy objectives and plans a
course of action involving intermediate targets. Then, the RBA intervenes to change the money base through its open
market operations. Next, the cash rate changes and this then feeds through to longer-term market interest rates. In
turn, banks alter their retail rates and economic agents' saving and borrowing decisions are affected. This then impacts
on inflation and growth.
68) Your answer should begin by defining the transmission mechanism as the chain of effects from monetary policy
decisions through to the rest of the economy. Then, outline in turn the various channels of transmission. The exchange
rate channel reacts to a change in interest rates and affects both inflation (through import prices) and the balance of
payments. The interest rate channel operates by impacting long-term interest rates and hence the cost of funding for
banks, who then adjust their lending rates and trigger changes in the level of economic activity by consumers and
business. Households will alter savings, and house loan repayments will rise or fall and consequently affect spending.
Then there is the announcement effect channel, which operates by affecting expectations of economic agents. You
should also include a discussion of the effects not only on the real sector but also asset prices, and explain how
monetary policy can impact on asset price bubbles and be used to dampen speculative excesses in the financial side of
the economy.
69) The Fisher Effect holds that nominal interest rates will increase with the rate of inflation. This is expressed in the
equation: r = rr + P where r is the nominal rate, rr is the real rate and P is the inflation rate. By implication, the real rate
(rr) is constant and not affected by inflation. The inflation variable is more precisely measured as expected inflation,
because investors are forward-looking and will base interest rates on what they anticipate inflation to be. Also the
Fisher Equation should take account of tax effects. When the nominal interest rate is taxed, the resulting real rate is
lower.
70) Your answer should begin by defining the difference between 'ultimate targets' and 'intermediate targets'. The former
are variables which the authorities aim to influence because of their impact on community welfare, while the latter are
variables that are of interest because of their effect on ultimate targets rather than being significant in themselves.
Examples of ultimate targets are inflation and unemployment. Examples of intermediate targets are interest rates and
monetary aggregates. The instruments are those variables that the RBA can influence. If there are N targets, we need at
least N instruments. Some instruments are more efficient than others, and the RBA needs to think carefully about
minimising the cost of policy and maximising its effectiveness. This is aided by the assignment of instruments to
particular targets. In Australia, the main instrument is the cash rate and this is assigned to targeting inflation. The
nature of economic shocks is another consideration. In the face of real shocks the authorities obtain better results using
a monetary target, while in a monetary shock it is better to use interest rate targeting. The exchange is an important
consideration, since it too can be used as an instrument and plays a role in the transmission mechanism.
14
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P. brevicaudatus Ehlers. Hab. North Sea and Baltic, from ten fathoms.
H. spinulosus v. Sieb. (Fig. 219). Hab. North Sea, Arctic Ocean, and Baltic, in
from two to fifty fathoms.
Halicryptus casts its cuticle in May and September; it becomes loose first at the
hinder end, and the split between it and the skin grows forward until the animal lies
free in a cuticular mantle. After some days this is split, and the animal frees itself
from it; the cast-off cuticle includes for a short distance the lining of the mouth, the
anus, and the two generative pores.
Fig. 220.—A, Bonellia viridis Rol., ♀ ; B, B. fuliginosa. Both nat. size. a, Grooved
proboscis; b, mouth; c, ventral hooks; d, anus.
The body of the female Bonellia viridis, one of the best known species of Echiurids,
is shaped like a small sausage, and is usually about 2 inches long. The proboscis
arises from the anterior end, and is extremely extensible. At the distal end the
proboscis splits into two short arms, which are often recurved; along the whole
ventral surface runs a groove lined with cilia, which by the approximation of its
edges can be converted into a tube. At the bottom of the proboscis the groove
opens into the mouth. Echiurus; Thalassema, and the female Hamingia have short
proboscides, which do not bifurcate but otherwise resemble those of the female
Bonellia.
Fig. 221.—View of a female Bonellia viridis Rol., opened along the left side, × 2. a,
Proboscis cut short; b, a bristle passed through the mouth into the pharynx; c,
convoluted intestine; d, anal tufts or vesicles; e, ventral nerve-cord; f, ovary
borne on ventral vessel running parallel with e; g, position of anus; h, points to
position of external opening of nephridium; i, nephridium. This line is on a level
with the internal funnel-shaped opening.
The green colour of B. viridis is due to a special pigment, "Bonellein," which at one
time was thought to be identical with chlorophyll. A similar green colour is found in
Hamingia arctica, Thalassema baronii, and the larvae of many forms.
A short distance behind the mouth, on the ventral surface, the female Bonellia and
both sexes of Thalassema and Echiurus bear two incurved stout chitinous hooks;
these gave the name Gephyrea Armata to the above-mentioned genera. In addition
to these, Echiurus has a row of chitinous bristles surrounding the posterior end of
the body; the row is single in E. unicinctus, double in E. pallasii. These bristles are
formed, like the hooks on the introvert of the Sipunculoidea, by epidermal cells;
those of B. minor and of the posterior rings in Echiurus are said to arise each from a
single cell, just as the bristles do in Chaetopods.
The skin consists of very much the same layers as does that of Sipunculus; the
cuticle is thin, the epidermis is modified into numerous glandular cells, papillae, and
pits, from which the bristles arise. A third layer of oblique or circular fibres is usually
found inside the longitudinal muscle-layer. The proboscis is solid, and contains
much connective-tissue and numerous muscle-fibres running in all directions; the
ventral groove is ciliated.
The alimentary canal in the Echiuroidea consists of a long thin-walled tube with
numerous convolutions; it is not coiled as in Sipunculids, but the loops are
irregularly arranged, and are supported by numerous fine muscular strands which
run from the skin. There is a ciliated groove running along one side of the intestine,
as in the Sipunculids. The anus is terminal. The most striking peculiarity of the
alimentary canal of the Echiurids is the existence of a collateral intestine or "siphon."
This is a narrow tube which arises from the main canal not very far from the mouth,
and re-enters it again lower down. A similar structure occurs in some Echinids, and
in the Capitelliformia (pp. 272, 305). Its function is not certainly known.
The "brown tubes" or nephridia vary in number in the Echiurids. In the female
Bonellia there is but one; in B. viridis the right, in B. minor the left usually persists. In
shape, colour, contractility, and minute structure they closely resemble those of
Sipunculus. Hamingia is said to have a pair of brown tubes; Echiurus has two pairs,
except E. chilensis, which has three; their internal openings are produced into long
coiled slits in some genera. Thalassema gigas has one pair; Th. neptuni, Th.
baronii, Th. formosulum, and Th. exilii, two; whilst Th. vegrande, Th. moebii, Th.
erythrogrammon, Th. caudex, and Th. sorbillans have three pairs.
The nervous system consists of a ventral cord lying in the body-cavity, as in the
Sipunculoidea, but attached to the skin, and of a circumoesophageal ring. With the
growth of the proboscis this ring is drawn out, and the two branches run along the
sides of the proboscis and unite at the tip. There is no specialisation of brain, nor
are any special sense organs present, but the ventral cord gives off paired nerves at
regular intervals, which, uniting dorsally, form rings in the skin in some and probably
in all species.
The genital glands are, like those of the Sipunculoidea, formed by a special
development of the cells lining the body-cavity. These cells are massed together
along the wall of the ventral blood-vessel. In Echiurus and in Thalassema the cells
break off and float in the body-cavity, developing into ova and spermatozoa. In
Bonellia each cell does not become an egg, but a mass of cells breaks off, one of
which increases in size at the expense of the others and forms the ovum. The
mature sexual cells leave the body through the nephridia.
Fig. 222.—An adult male Bonellia viridis Rol. The original was 1.5 mm. long. The
nervous system is not shown. (After Selenka.). a, Generative pore with
spermatozoa coming out; b, anterior blind end of intestine attached to the
parenchymatous tissue by muscular strands; c, green wandering cells containing
chlorophyll; d, parenchymatous connective-tissue; e, epidermis; i, intestine; j, vas
deferens; l, internal opening of vas deferens; m, the left anal vesicle; n,
spermatozoa in the body-cavity.
Bonellia and Hamingia present very interesting cases of sexual dimorphism. In both
genera the female is an animal of considerable size with the normal structure of the
Echiuroidea, but the male (Fig. 222) is a microscopic Planarian-like animal, which
lives in the mouth and in the nephridia of the female. Both in Bonellia[486] and in
Hamingia the male is provided with a pair of hook-like ventral bristles; these are
wanting in the female Hamingia. The surface of the male is ciliated, and the skin
contains circular and longitudinal muscle-fibres. The body-cavity is developed, but
does not reach to either end of the body. The alimentary canal is closed, neither
mouth nor anus existing; it is supported by regularly arranged dorso-ventral muscle
strands. A nerve-ring and a ventral cord exist. There are also two rudimentary
organs corresponding with the anal vesicles of the female, and a single nephridium
which acts as a duct for the spermatozoa; the latter arise from modified cells lining
the body-cavity.
In both sexes the larvae develop to a certain stage without showing any trace of
sexual differentiation, but after this stage, the development of the male is to a
certain extent arrested; in some respects, indeed, it undergoes retrogressive
changes. At this time it is found clinging to the proboscis of the female, thence it
makes its way to the mouth, where it undergoes its final change; and then creeping
out, finds its way into the nephridium of the female, and spends the rest of its life
there in a special recess cut off by a fold from the excretory part of this organ. In
Hamingia, however, Lankester, who first described the male, did not find any in the
nephridia, but found five specimens, each 1⁄12 inch long, within the dilated pharynx
of the female.
Development.—In Bonellia and Hamingia it seems probable that the ova are
fertilised in the nephridium of the female; in the other genera they are fertilised in
the water after leaving the body of the mother.
In Thalassema and Echiurus the growth of the embryo results in the formation of a
typical Trochosphere larva, a type widely spread in the animal kingdom, being found
in the Chaetopoda (Fig. 145, A), Polyzoa (p. 510), and Mollusca. The large prae-
oral lobe persists in the Echiuroidea as the proboscis; the mouth is ventral in
position, with usually a ring of cilia encircling the body in front of and behind it; the
anus is posterior and terminal. A pair of larval excretory organs are present, and a
special nervous aggregation of cells at the apex of the prae-oral lobe is usually
indicated by the presence of a bunch of long cilia.
The anal vesicles arise quite late in the development; when they have acquired their
openings into the body-cavity, they seem to take in water. In Thalassema, as
described by Conn, this is accompanied by remarkable changes, amounting almost
to a metamorphosis. The body increases in bulk fourfold, the cilia of the prae-oral
ring disappear, and the animal now moves only by means of its proboscis; the
pigment is absorbed, and all traces of segmentation disappear. A similar intaking of
water is described by Spengel in Bonellia. In this genus the larva, which is coloured
bright green, and has two brown eye-spots, is not such a typical Trochosphere as is
that of Echiurus and Thalassema.
Fig. 223.—Echiurus pallasii Guér. × ½. a, Mouth at the end of the grooved proboscis;
b, ventral hooks; c, anus.
Greef mentions eight species of Thalassema and Rietsch thirteen; three of these,
however, Th. grohmanni, Th. lessonii, and Th. pelzelnii, were not seen by either
author, and their description is taken from Diesing. There is some reason for
thinking that the two first-named species are identical with Th. neptuni. Conn has
established a new species for the specimens whose embryology he worked out at
Beaufort, Virginia, and Selenka described a new species from the Challenger
material.
With the exception of the three doubtful species mentioned above, the list of species
of Thalassema is as follows:—
Th. erythrogrammon Max Müller. Red Sea and East Indies (Billiton).
Th. caudex Lampert. Red Sea and Indian Ocean.
Bonellia.—Proboscis very extensible and bifurcated at the end. The body and
proboscis are coloured a bright green. Two ventral hook-like bristles, but no peri-
anal ring. A single nephridium. The above applies to the female; the males are
degenerate, and live in the nephridium or pharynx of the female.
This genus was first described by Koren and Danielssen as H. arctica. Two
specimens were afterwards described by Horst as H. glacialis. Later Lankester
described two other specimens; he was the first to find the male in the pharynx of
the female. He is of the opinion that all three descriptions apply to the same
species, and for this the original name H. arctica must be retained.
Hamingia arctica K. and D. Two hundred miles north of North Cape and in the
Hardanger Fjord.
Saccosoma.—No proboscis. The body is flask-shaped. The mouth and anus are
terminal. The ovary is anterior, and there is only one nephridium. No bristles.
Our knowledge of this remarkable Gephyrean is very incomplete, but such as it is, it
is due to the careful investigations of Koren and Danielssen, who had only a single
specimen at their disposition.
Habits of the Echiuroidea.—As a rule the members of this group conceal their
bodies in clefts and fissures of rocks and stones, keeping up communication with
the outer world by means of their proboscis. Rietsch[488] describes a specimen of
Bonellia minor, which he placed in an aquarium, exploring with its proboscis the
nature of the bottom; when the animal had found a convenient crevice, it fixed its
proboscis in it by means of the bifurcated end, and by its contraction drew the body
up, and entered the hole, proboscis first. It then turned round, and during this
operation doubtless the ventral hooks came into play; and then stretching out its
proboscis, it began to explore the neighbourhood. The proboscis is evidently very
sensitive, and in addition to being a locomotor organ, it is also used for the
prehension of food. If cut off near the mouth, the animal does not long survive, but if
a considerable portion is left the scar heals, and the lost part is probably
regenerated. In captivity the animals frequently change their place of residence.
Eisig some years ago described the great extensibility of the proboscis of B. viridis
when confined in the tanks of the Zoological Station at Naples. When contracted the
proboscis was but a few inches long, but at times it was extended till it reached the
length of 1½ metre, shining through the water as a transparent green thread. The
body of the Bonellia was hidden under stones, but the proboscis could be seen
seizing between its two ends the bodies of certain Ascidians which covered the
inside of the tank, tearing them off the walls, and conveying them to the mouth along
its grooved ventral surface.
The food of the Echiuroidea consists of organic matter, in the main of animal nature,
but the group differs from the Sipunculoidea in not eating sand.
Rietsch describes Thalassema neptuni as being more active in its movements and
less sedentary than B. minor. The proboscis is still the chief organ of locomotion,
but the trunk plays a greater part in the movements of the animal than it does in the
last-named species. Th. neptuni is found in cavities of stones or in the chambers
worn out by the Mollusc Gastrochaena; when withdrawn from its house the body is
found to be covered by a thick layer of tenacious viscid mucus.
Fig. 224.—Thalassema neptuni Gaert. × 2. A, The animal lying on its
ventral surface. B, Ventral view of the anterior end, showing the
grooved proboscis ending behind in the mouth, and the ventral
hooks.
To sum up, it seems probable that the Echiuroidea are derived from
the Chaetopoda, and that their nearest ally in this group is
Sternaspis; and that the Sipunculoidea are allied to the Echiuroidea,
but have further departed from the Annelid stock, and have lost even
those traces of affinity with the parent group which have been
preserved in the development of Echiurus and Thalassema.
CHAPTER XVI
PHORONIS
HISTORY—HABITS—STRUCTURE—REPRODUCTION—LARVA—
METAMORPHOSIS—LIST OF SPECIES AND LOCALITIES—SYSTEMATIC
POSITION.
What little we know about the habits of Phoronis is in the main due to
the observations of Cori,[492] who studied Ph. psammophila at Faro,
an inlet of the sea near Messina. The least disturbance causes the
animal to withdraw its head with lightning rapidity into the tube, from
which after a time it re-emerges very slowly, and does not expand its
tentacular crown until its body is completely extended. Cori states
that not unfrequently individuals are found either without the crown of
tentacles or with the latter in process of regeneration. These may
have been bitten off by fish, etc.; but, on the other hand, van
Beneden describes in Crepina gracilis (Ph. hippocrepia) the throwing
off and regeneration of the crown of tentacles; and Cori confirms his
observation, at any rate as far as concerns those individuals kept in
captivity, and whose surroundings were presumably somewhat
unfavourable. He further observed the interesting fact that the cast-
off crown of tentacles continued to live, and suggests that possibly it
may develop a new body, in which case the phenomenon would be
an interesting case of binary fission producing two new animals.