288 Annals of the South African Museum. 



crowded, arranged in very regular longitudinal and diagonal series, 

 their outlines hidden under the spinelets; each plate carries a tuft 

 of 10-20, slender radiating spines about half a millimeter long; the 

 plates of the median radial series are largest. No madreporite is 

 visible. Of papulae, a single series can be detected on each side of 

 the median radial series of plates. 



Actinal intermediate plates in regular series ; each carries a trans- 

 verse series of long, very slender spinelets; on the larger plates, this 

 series consists of 8-10 spinelets, the middle ones a trifle the longest 

 and nearly a millimeter long; on the smaller plates, as the margin 

 is approached the spines become fewer and shorter. 



Adambulacral armature consists of a furrow series of 4 (or 3) 

 spines and an actinal series of about 5 spines; the middle spines of 

 the furrow series are longest, exceeding a millimeter; all are webbed 

 on the basal half; the second spine of the actinal series, which is 

 oblique or distinctly curved, is much the longest, as a rule, and 

 considerably exceeds a millimeter; these actinal spines are also 

 webbed basally. All the adambulacral spines are exceedingly deli- 

 cate and most of them are more or less broken and crushed. 



Oral plates, each with a marginal series of 6-8 long slender 

 spines, the innermost longest, and a surface series of 6-8 slightly 

 smaller spines placed longitudinally on the plate. 



Colour (dried) very pale woodbrown. 



P.F. 909. Off East London, Cape Colony, 33 3 6' S. X 28 11' E., 

 85 fms. 1 specimen; young. 



Holotype, South African Museum, no. A 6425. 



It is a pity there is only a single young specimen of this interesting 

 species. It seems to be nearest to A. placenta (Penn.) of Europe but 

 comparison with small specimens of that species shows it to be quite 

 distinct. The abactinal spinelets are much longer, giving a very 

 different appearance to that surface. Orally too the spinulation is 

 finer and more crowded. 



ECHINASTERIDAE. 



This family is poorly represented in South African waters, only 

 three species being present in the collection before me, and no others 

 have been recorded hitherto. Bell (1905) lists Henricia ornata and a 

 species of Echinaster, concerning which he says only that the two 

 specimens do not "link on" to any known species. He considers that 

 they "closely resemble" a specimen from Port Natal, long in the 

 British Museum, whir 1 1 lie is "unable to determine". In spite then 

 of having three available specimens, he not only does not describe 



