NO. 5 CLARK : ECHINI OF WARMER EASTERN PACIFIC 311 



bare it is not at all bleached but is a fine shade of brown, with the dark 

 brown lines of the posterior half of the test (one of the supposed characters 

 of elongatus) very conspicuous. It is from Laguna Beach, California, and 

 measures 62 x 63 x 9 mm. One other specimen, also bare and not bleached, 

 measures 39 x 37 x 5 mm and is of the same color and texture as specimens 

 of the same size of the species of Dendraster described below as laevis. 

 The petaloid area shows clearly that it is not laevis and hence it would 

 seem to be an odd elongatus. 



Several other specimens show peculiarities that distinguish them as 

 not normal. Two of these deserve a few words of description. The smaller, 

 although not truly circular measures 43 x 43 mm. The anterior petal is 

 long and narrow with a relatively uncrowded tuberculation, while the 

 anterior paired petals are notably long and open at the tip. The color is a 

 brown orange, particularly bright on the oral surface. It was taken north 

 of Anacapa Island, California, in 15 fms. The other peculiar specimen 

 measures 55 mm long by 61 mm in breadth. The anterior margin is nearly 

 straight for about 15 mm while the posterior is straight for 20 mm or more. 

 The apex of the test is about 30 mm from the anterior margin but the 

 madreporite and the adjoining petal-bases are only 18 mm from the pos- 

 terior margin. Associated with this, the lateral petals are unusually diverg- 

 ing, the tips of the posterior pair being 22 mm apart. The anterior pair 

 are also markedly diverging and very long, their tips 35 mm apart. The 

 color of the test where bare is dull purple. The dense coat of spines is 

 more or less orange or yellow but the color of the test is dominant on the 

 upper surface; hence the general effect of the upper side is dark, dull 

 brown orange; the lower side is predominantly brown orange. 



Coloration in excentricus is generally dull but shows a considerable 

 diversity. The specimens from Oregon are essentially gray, the lighter 

 with a tendency to cream color or dull white, especially orally, the darker 

 ones to a dusky brown or even black. Most California specimens tend 

 towards either a dull violet black or a bright maroon brown ; the latter in 

 some cases might be called dark red. Owing to the dense coat of spines 

 on the lower surface, the oral side is usually lighter or more brightly 

 colored than the upper. As Dendrasters often congregate in great numbers 

 on suitable bottoms, they tend to crowd each other into a more or less 

 vertically inclined position and thus lie tier upon tier on a rough bottom 

 over which the tidal currents flow back and forth. As a result of this the 

 anterior fourth (more or less) of the animal becomes bleached to some 

 degree while the not buried part remains dark. This peculiar bicoloration 

 may be quite striking. 



