86 Bulletin, VanderbUi Marine Museum, Vol. IV 



Material examined: Three specimens collected on the coast of 

 Maine, by the "Eagle," Cat. no. 298. 



Color: The upper surface of this very beautiful starfish is fre- 

 quently rose-purple or deep red, more rarely, a yellow or orange 

 specimen is found. The under surface is always some shade of yellow- 

 ish or orange. 



Life history: The development of the species is direct, without 

 a pelagic larval stage. The breeding season is March and April. 



Technical description : This species is very large, attaining a 

 diameter of 300 to 400 mm. The rays vary from 7 to 13 but are 

 usually 9 to 10. R = 3 r ; R = 75 to 200 mm. ; r = 25 to 65 mm. 

 The disk is large, highly arched, the interbrachial arcs somewhat 

 rounded. The rays are arched abactinally, flattened actinally, regu- 

 larly tapered with blunt, rounded tips. The abactinal surface is cov- 

 ered by very firm skeleton, formed of a very close network of plates. 

 These plates bear low columnar elevations, each of which is crowned 

 with a group of 8 to 12 delicate spines. These spines are so short 

 and of such nearly uniform length that in the living starfish they 

 give a general impression of an almost smooth surface. Along the 

 side of the rays, these columnar elevations tend to form longitudinal 

 series; four to six such series usually being well defined. On the 

 actinal surface of the ray there is a well-defined series of plates form- 

 ing a lateral margin. Toward the tip these plates are in contact with 

 the adambulacral plates, but as they approach the disk, they diverge, 

 forming a margin for the actinal surface of the disk. The plates 

 have transverse, ridge-like elevations, which each bear a cluster of 

 ten to twenty-five small spines, of approximately equal length and 

 arranged in regular double series. The actinal, interradial spaces are 

 closely covered with plates bearing low, columnar elevations orna- 

 mented with spines somewhat bigger than those of the abactinal sur- 

 face. These clusters are rather definitely arranged, tending to form 

 four rows parallel to the adambulacral plates. The row adjacent to 

 the adambulacral extends about halfway the length of the ray, while 

 the others are successively shorter, the interradial series being the 

 shortest. The adambulacral plates have two series of spines, one in 

 the furrow and one on the face of the plate. The furrow series is 

 made up of three spines in a row parallel to the furrow; one, or 

 sometimes two, of these spines is often absent, but when present the 

 middle one of the series is the longest and the distal one is usually the 

 shortest. Near the mouth these spines are frequently partly fused at 



