Since the attempts of Pearson (1914) and Panning (1929-35) to revise or subdivide the genus Holothuria Linnaeus, 1767 in order to try and show natural affinities between the included species, Deichmann (1958) has been the only specialist in this field to attempt such a task. None of these specialists was able to make a complete survey due to lack of rnaterial of certain species. On the basis of the holothurian collections of the British Museum and the existing literature, an attempt is made in this paper to deal with the balance of those species not taken into consideration by Deichmann and to bring her system into line with the Rules of Nomenclature. Excluding those of Actinopyga, Bohadschia and Labidodemas, the number of species of Holothuria considered to be valid at present is about 114. These can be grouped into 17 more or less clearly distinct supraspecific taxa, four of them new, of varying degrees of differentiation. Some of these groups can be arranged in sequence using the complexity of the spicules as a major criterion.
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