Echinoderm Fauna of South Africa. 357 



AstropMura and at no other station. The specimens are 3 to 4-5 nun. 

 in disk diameter and show no trace of genital slits. 



P.F. 1909. Cape St. Blaize, N. by E. V 4 E., 07 miles, 90-100 fins. 

 Rough bottom. 4 specimens ; adult and young. 



OPHIURA COSTATA. 



Ophioglyphu costata Lyman, 1878. Bull. M. C. Z., vol. 5, p. 7(3; pi. IV, 



figs. 92-94. 



OjtJihtra costata Meissner, 1901. Bronn's Thierreichs, vol. 2, pt. 3, p. 925. 

 Ophtozona capensis Bell, 1905. Mar. Inv. South Africa, vol. 3, p. 256 ; 



pi. I, figs. 1, 2. 



Matsumoto (1915, Proc. Philadelphia Acad. Nat. Sci., p. 81) first 

 called attention to the fact that Bell's Ophiozona capensis was an 

 Ophiura. The M. C. Z. contains two cotypes of Bell's species received 

 from the British Museum in exchange. On examining them in con- 

 nection with the PIETER FAURE collection, I was struck by their 

 resemblance to Ophiura costata and comparison with a cotype of that 

 species proves them to be identical. Bell's figure does not show the 

 arm-comb well and Matsumoto was misled into supposing it was 

 made up of spiniform papillae, whereas the comb-papillae are really 

 blunt, flat and very closely crowded together. It is curious that Bell 

 should have considered the species an Ophiozona, for it is a very 

 typical example of the irrorata-gfoup of Ophiura. It seems to be 

 fairly common in the vicinity of the Cape of Good Hope but is not 

 as yet known from anywhere else. The PIETER FAURE specimens 

 range from 5 to 22 mm. in disk-diameter and show some interesting 

 growth changes. The smallest has the disk covered by 51 plates, of 

 which the radial shields, which are in contact at their middle, are 

 largest, and the centrodorsal and 5 primary radials are conspicuous ; 

 a second radial and two interradials, one of which is marginal, are 

 the only other large plates. The first two upper arm-plates lie be- 

 tween the distal ends of the radial shields; the third is the largest 

 and widest of all, more than twice as wide as long ; the fourth is 

 pentagonal, as wide as long, in contact with the third: the fifth is 

 triangular and barely touches the fourth while the remaining plates, 

 all small and triangular, are widely separated. The comb-papillae 

 are not essentially different from those of the adult but they are 

 relatively thicker and rather less truncate. The oral surface shows 



*/ 



only very slight differences from what is to be seen in adults; the 

 under arm-plates are all well separated and the greater part of each 

 interbrachial area outside of the oral shield is occupied by a single 



