acute spines around bases. Rr=6:l. Color 

 commonly gray or blue-gray, but may be 

 salmon, rose, or light bix)wn. 

 Eange : 



New Jersey to Brazil, 10 to 175 m. This species 

 is the most common member of the genus in 

 North Carolina and apparently the only one 

 that is fomid north of Cape Hatteras. South 

 of Cape Hatteras it is second only to Asfro- 

 pecten artieulafus in abundance and is often 

 taken with Astropecten. It is found in all 

 three biotic pro^ances and in depths to 175 m., 

 but is most abundant in the Carolinian Prov- 

 ince in depths of 9 to 110 m. 



Luidia elegans Perrler, 1876 



Description : 



Rays five; aboral paxillae stellate, crowded, 

 smallest in median portion of rays, larger near 

 margins, with shoi-t central spinule and 6 to 

 10 marginal spinules not or scarcely enlarged 

 at tip, giving very unifonn appearance to 

 paxillar area. Inferomarginals with two to 

 three (three in fully grown si^ecimens) large 

 spines. Bivalved pedicellariae often present on 

 actinal side. Rr=7:l. Color orange above, 

 lighter below. 



Range : 



Cape Hatteras to Barbados, 95 to 267 rn. Not 

 common in North Carolina. 



PAXILLOSIDA 



In North Carolina, Astropecten. with five 

 species, is the most conspicuous of the three genera 

 in the Order Paxillosida. ^1. arftculatus and ^4. 

 amei'icanus are the most abundant species. The 

 relative abundance and distribution of the various 

 species of Astropecten are indicated in figure 10. 

 Although ^4. americanivs and A. artieulafus are 

 vei"y abundant, they apparently are not competi- 

 tors for the same space. The former occurs mainly 

 in the deeper waters of the shelf north of Cape 

 Hatteras, and tlie latter is most abundant south 

 of the Cape. The two species have not been taken 

 in the same dredge haul. A. dvplicatus has occa- 

 sionally been found at the same station with .4. 

 artwulatiis, however, and A. nitidus and .4. nvt- 

 tingi have been taken together near the edge of the 

 shelf east of Frying Pan Shoals. 



^ 



Figure 9. — Luidia elegans. A, aboral ; B, oral, 2 cm. 

 indicated. 



Ctenodiscus crispatus (Retzius) 



Synonymy : 



Asteria-s crispata Retzius, 1805. 



Cten-odiscus crispatn.s: Duben and Koren, 



1846. 

 Ctenodiscus atistralis Liitken, 1871. 

 Ctenodiscus krav^ei Ludwig, 1886. 

 Ctenodiscus procurator Sladen, 1889. 



140 



U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



