﻿20 



OPHIURA BREVISPINA. 



of the arm ; length near base of arm, inside scale, .4, outside scale, .2. 

 Color, in alcohol ; disk, above, greenish gray (gamboge and neutral 

 tint), clouded with lighter ; upper side of arms very irregularly barred 

 with several shades of greenish gray, and with dirty white ; edges of 

 upper arm-plates interrupted by very fine longitudinal streaks of 

 darker, giving the appearance of teeth ; edges of disk, below, same 

 as above, its central portion, together with mouth apparatus, under 

 surface of arms, and arm-spines, dirty white. 



Variations. — This is a pretty uniform species. Its color is usually 

 made up of several shades of sap-green, or of greenish gray, variegated 

 with dirty white or yellow, the under parts being much lighter and 

 less marked. Sometimes the green is replaced by lake-red. In speci- 

 mens not yet fully grown, the upper arai-spine is often shorter than 

 the others. 



Ophiura hrevispina differs from other equal-spined Ophiura3 as follows : 

 from 0. brevicauda, in longer and flatter spines and naked side mouth- 

 shields ; from 0. oUvacea, in more octagonal under arm-plates ; from 

 0. guttata, in having unbroken upper arm-plates ; from 0. Januarii and 

 O. variegata, in shorter and differently-shaped arm-spines. 



LIST OF SPECIMENS. 



1065 

 1059 

 989 

 1086 



Museum of Comparative Zoology. 



Cape Florida. 



Tortugas, Fla. 



Cape Florida. 

 Floi-ida. 

 Florida. 

 Cape Florida. 



West Indies. 



Cape Florida. 



Smithsonian Institution. 



Florida. 



Cape Florida. 



Cape Florida. 



St. Thomas & Bahamas. 



St. Thomas, '\\. I. 



G. Wurdeman and J. 



E. Mills. 

 G. Wurdeman and J. 



E. Mills. 

 T. Lyman. 

 Prof. Apassiz. 

 G. W.inleman. 

 G. Wnrdeman and J. 



E. amis. 



University Mnsenm, 



Copenhagen. 

 G. Wurdeman. 



G. Wurdeman. 



A. H. Kiise. 

 A. H. Riise. 



