75"W 



FiGUEE 10. — Distribution and relative abundance of five species of Astropecten. Many of the numerous stations at which 



A. articulatus was collected have been omitted. 



Description : 



Five anns; body form variable, from almost 

 pentagonal to nearly star-shaped. Aboral sur- 

 face of typical paxillae; jDodia devoid of 

 suckers. Conspicuous marginal plates, between 

 each pair of wliich are simplified cribriform 

 organs each in the form of a groove contain- 

 ing a few lamellae, which continue as simple 



channels between plates of oral side up to 

 ambulacral grooves. Lacks intestine, intestinal 

 caeca, and anus. Epiproctal cone present. Rr= 

 1.6-3.1 : 1. Color yellowish. 

 Range : 



Circmnboreal ; in the Pacific, extends down 

 to Chile; 55 to 1,800 m. Rare in North 

 Carolina. 



SEA-STARS OF NORTH CAROLINA 



141 



