102 Bulletin, Vanderbilt Marine Museum, Vol. IV 



were not equally of a length, those for the most part pretty near; 

 but those branches which were on that side of the joint on which the 

 receding joint was placed were always about a fourth or fifth part 

 longer than those on the other side. Every one of these branchings 

 seemed to have, from the very mouth to the smallest twigs or threads 

 in which it ended, a double chain or rank of pores, as appears by the 

 figure. The body of the fish was on the other side; and seemed to 

 have been protruberant, much like an echinus (egg-fish or button-fish) 

 and, like that, divided into five ribs or ridges, and each of these seemed 

 to be kept out by two small bony ribs. 



"In the figure is represented fully, and at length, only one of the 

 main branches, whence it is easy to imagine the rest, cut off at the 

 fourth subdividing branch, which was done to avoid confusion, as 

 well as too much labor and expense of time in the engraving." 



A characteristically careful, modern description of this species is 

 to be found in Theodore Lyman's "Ophiuridae and Astrophytidae, " 

 111. Cat. Mus. Comp. Zool., no. 1, p. 187, 1865. Excellent detailed 

 illustrations are given by Sladen in the "Challenger" Report on the 

 Ophiuroidea, pi. XXXV, fig. 26, pi. 36. 



The outstanding diagnostic characters of this species are a large 

 disk, with the arms branched from the base ; the arm-spines beginning 

 at the second pair of tube-feet. Only one madreporite is present. 

 There are a series of plates among the edge of the disk in the inter- 

 radial spaces. The disk is naked with only the radial ribs possessing 

 a series of spines which are distinctly larger than the similarly placed 

 rounded granules found on G. eucnemis (Muller and Troschel), 

 another Arctic species having a similar range. 



References: The Basket-Fish, Piscis Echinostellaris Visciformis 

 John Winthrop, Phil. Trans. Royal Soc. London, vol. V, p. 1152, 

 1670; ibid, pi. XI, fig. 1, (p. 423 reprint), vol. V, p. 178, 1819. 



Gorgonocephalus arcticus Leach, in Ross's Voyage of Discovery in 

 H. M. SS. "Isabella" and "Alexander," vol. II, appendix IV, 

 p. 178, in second edition, 1819. — H. L. Clark, Mem. Mus. Comp. 

 Zool., vol. XXV, p. 185, 1915. 



Euryale scutatum Gould, Rept. Invert. Mass., p. 345, 1841. 



Astrophyton agassizii Stimpson, Smiths. Contrib. Knowl., vol. VI, 

 p. 12, 1853.— Lyman, 111. Cat. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 1, no. 1, 

 p. 186, 1865.— Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., vol. 19, p. 102, 1877.— 

 Lutken, Addit acl Hist. Ophiurid., part III, in Dansk Vidensk. 



