The Comatulids of Torres Strait. 125 



can not be accepted. He says (p. 606) that yellow is "the colour of 

 small specimens and of pentacrinoid young of eomatulids, with very 

 few exceptions." At Maer, a considerable number of small crinoids 

 were collected, the young of Comatula purpurea and of Comanthus 

 annulatum, chiefly. Not one of these was yellow or even light-colored. 

 They appeared to be mostly black, but in view of Mr. Clark's statement 

 that black is a very rare color among comatulids, they may perhaps be 

 called dark olive or dark brown. He adds that "red is the color of 

 all young which are not yellow." One or two young which were red 

 were found, but they were very unusual. He goes on: "The black 

 factor in coloration is merely the result of age and nothing more; all 

 full-grown crinoids become dusky," except certain yellow species. It 

 must be said that at Maer many obviously very young comatulids 

 were so dark that they were apparently black, while many full-grown 

 specimens were brilliant green or red, with very little or no black. 



Concluding his remarks on color, Mr. Clark claims (p. 607) that his 

 analysis of the coloration of crinoids "explains the wide range of hues 

 found in these animals; they appear to be merely the result of light, 

 which introduces a blue factor on a pigment primarily yellow, more 

 rarely red, plus the effect of the age factor, black. Not only the 

 crinoids but all the echinoderms appear to obey this law." It is 

 regrettable that the problem of the coloration of echinoderms is not so 

 easy of solution and not so nearly solved as this naive remark of Mr. 

 Clark implies. It is not difficult to think of numerous cases to which 

 his theory would not apply in any way whatever, and while that theory 

 may prove of value ultimately in helping us to understand the colora- 

 tion of certain groups of crinoids, the claim that it is a "law" is some- 

 what premature, while the statement that it appears to be applicable 

 to all echinoderms is simply preposterous. 



