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



Locality. — " Porcupine " Ex£>edition : 



Station 47a. 1869. In the Faeroe Channel. Lat. 59° 34' N., long. 7° 18' W. Depth 

 542 fathoms. Bottom temperature 6°"5 C. ; surface temperature 12° - 2 C. 



Remarks. — I have expressed the opinion on a preceding page that Goniaster hispi- 

 dus, Sars, is congeneric with the present starfish. I have, however, never seen an example 

 of Goniaster hispidus, but so far as I can judge from the admirable description and figures 

 given by Sars, Lasiaster villosus differs from that form by the definitely prolonged rays, 

 by the absence of the marginal fringe of spines on the infero-marginal plates, by the 

 actinal intermediate plates bearing a group of spines instead of arc-formed series of spines, 

 and by the different character of the adambulacral armature, which in Lasiaster villosus 

 consists of a pair of spinelets on the furrow margin of the plate and a transverse series of 

 three on the actinal surface, whereas in Lasiaster hispidus the armature is described as 

 forming a transverse series only. It is to be remarked that an approximation to this 

 arrangement occurs at the extremity of the ray of Lasiaster villosus, from which it may be 

 inferred to be a juvenile character. 



From its small size the type-example of Lasiaster hispidus is probably an immature 

 specimen, but from the differences above mentioned I do not suppose that it belongs to the 

 same species as the form under notice. Danielssen and Koren 1 state that large examples 

 of Lasiaster hispidus (one measuring 72 mm. in diameter) have been dredged in the 

 Drontheim Fjord by Mr Storm, but no details are given. The Goniaster hispidus of Sars 

 was referred by Perrier 2 to the genus Pentagonaster (and placed in the subgenus Astro- 

 gonium), an opinion with which I am unable to agree. 



Family Asterinidae (Gray, 1840), emend. Perrier, 1875. 



This family appears superficially to hold an intermediate position in many respects 

 between the Phanerozonia and Cryptozonia. The marginal plates in the genera Asterina 

 and Palmipes, although exceedingly small, essentially define the ambitus in a conspicuous 

 manner ; in other members of the family, however, they are large and superficially 

 Phanerozonid in their character. This circumstance, taken in conjunction with the strictly 

 limited abactinal distribution of the papulae, and the nature of the actinal plating, appear 

 to me to justify the classification of the Asterinidae under the Phanerozonia. Further- 

 more, the alliance of some genera of the Asterinidae with the Gymnasteriidse is unquestion- 

 able, and their natural position would appear to be in sequence to the latter family. The 

 general structure of the Asterinidae, as a whole, supports these views. 



I am unable to agree with the classification of Dr Viguier, 3 who includes in the 



1 Den Norske-Nordhavs Expedition, 1876-1878, Zoologi, xi. Asteroidea, Christiania, 1884, p. 58. 



2 Nouv. Archives Mus. Hist. Nat, 1878, 2e Serie, t. i. p. 84. 



3 Archives de Zool. exper., 1878, t. vii. p. 205. 



