Boone, Echinodermata, Cruises of "Am" and "Alva" 119 



Subfamily: Comasterinae 



Genus: COM ASTER L. Agassiz 



Comaster gracilis (Hartlaub) 



Type : This was taken near Pulo Edam, near Batavia, and was 

 deposited in the Gottingen Museum, Germany. 



Material examined: One broken specimen, taken on the 

 "Alva's" anchor chain, off Larantuka, Flores Island, Flores Straits, 

 Dutch East Indies, October 22, 1931. 



Distribution : This species is a well known member of the 

 littoral zone, ranging from the Maldive Archipelago eastward to 

 New Britain, the Fiji Archipelago and Macclesfield Bank, having 

 been recorded from the following localities: Pulo Edam, near 

 Batavia (Hartlaub) ; Hulule, Maldive Archipelago, Blanche Bay, 

 New Britain (Bell) ; Port Blair, Andamans, Singapore and other 

 Malayan records, Kei Islands, Lontor and Sutre, Banda (A. H. 

 Clark) ; off Larantuka, Flores Island, Flores Strait (Boone) . Two 

 sublittoral records for this species, of 13 and 55 meters respec- 

 tively, are published. 



Remarks : The Flores Straits specimen is unfortunately too 

 broken from its association with the "Alva's" anchor chain to per- 

 mit of much description, beyond establishing another locality 

 record for this very lovely sea-lily. 



The colour of the living specimens recorded does not appear 

 to have been reported. 



Mr. Austin H. Clark's very lucid exposition of this species, 

 based upon practically all known specimens of Comaster gracilis, 

 is to be found in his Bulletin LXXXII, U. S. National Museum. 



References: Actinometra gracilis, Hartlaub, C, Nachr. Ges. 

 Gottingen, May, 1890, pp. 170, 187 ; Nova Acta Acad. German, 

 1891, vol. LVIII, No. 1, p. 11, p. 113, pi. 5, fig. 55. 



Comaster gracilis, Clark, A. H., Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 1908, vol. 

 XXXIII, p. 686; Bull. LXXXII, pt. I, 1915, pp. 49, 52, 53; 

 Ibid., pt. I, 1921, p. 594; Ibid., pt. Ill, 1931, pp. 11, 12, 428, 

 430 and 435, pi. 47, figs. 143, 144. 



