436 THE VOYAGE OF H.M.S. CHALLENGER. 



of two moderately elongate, robust, cylindrical, slightly tapering, obtusely tipped, equal 

 spinelets, which stand close together one behind the other. At the base of the innermost 

 spine, on the margin of the furrow, are occasional medium-sized forficiform pedicellarise, 

 and near the mouth some of these are of the cat's-paw form mentioned above. 



The madreporiform body, which is large and conspicuous, is situated near the margin ; 

 its surface is slightly convex and marked with numerous fine, much convoluted striatious, 

 and its circumference is surrounded by a close circlet of about twenty-two short papilliform 

 spinelets doubled in places. 



The ambulacral tube-feet, which are crowded, are disposed in a quadriserial arrange- 

 ment, and have a small, fleshy, centrally invaginated terminal disk. 



Colour in alcohol, a bleached greyish white. 



Locality. — Station 311. Off the western coast of South America, near the entrance to 

 the Strait of Magellan, opposite Port Churruca. January 11, 1876. Lat. 52° 45' 30" S., 

 long. 73° 46' 0" W. Depth 245 fathoms. Blue mud. Bottom temperature 46°-0 Fahr. ; 

 surface temperature 50°'0 Fahr. 



Remarks. — This remarkably handsome form is readily distinguished from all other 

 species by the regular uniserial transverse lines of well-spaced, uniform, granule-iike spinelets 

 borne on the plates, by its general form and structure, and by the armature of the actinal 

 or infero-margiual plates. Possibly the starfish described by Philippi 1 under the name 

 of Asteracanthion fulvum may be allied to and congeneric with Stichaster polygrammus, 

 but it is clearly specifically distinct, as shown by the radial proportions, and by the v state- 

 ment that the series of plates most remote from the median radial series bear only\two 

 spines. In Stichaster ■polygrammus five or six are regularly present ; and the pedicellpxise 

 could scarcely be described as numerous or small, as is the case in Asteracanthion fulvum. 

 Unfortunately no types of the Chilian starfishes described by Philippi are available in any 

 of the European collections, so far as I am aware, and no figures accompany the otherwise 

 excellent descriptions. 



Genus Neomorphaster, n. gen. 

 Glyptaster, Sladen in Narr. Chall. Exp., 1885, voL i. p. 612 (non Glyptaster, Hall, 1852). 



Disk small. Pays broad at the base, comparatively long, subrigid and tapering. 

 Interbrachial arcs subacute. 



Abactinal area of the disk occupied by largely developed permanent primary apical 

 plates, the dorso-eentral, basals, and radials being conspicuous; under-basals are also 

 present. 



Rays covered with large, subhexagonal, slightly convex, imbricating plates, arranged 

 in perfectly regular longitudinal lines ; and bearing a few large, widely-spaced, semi 1 .- 



1 Archivf. Naturgesch.y 1870, Jahrg. xxxvi., Bd. i. p. 270. ' 



