232 ALLAN HANCOCK PACIFIC EXPEDITIONS VOL. 8 



cal even at tip or somewhat terete, and are seldom noticeably rough. 

 Their color is grayish or dull brownish but is frequently altered by bryo- 

 zoa, sponges or other foreign growths. The striking and very constant 

 feature of the coloration in perplexa is the conspicuous broad, brown 

 longitudinal stripe which occurs on all the spinelets. The test itself is more 

 or less yellowish or greenish but this shade is well shown chiefly, if not 

 only, in the ambulacral mid-zones. The color of the basal part of the 

 primary spines is commonly pale brown, usually greenish or yellowish 

 just above the collar. The collar itself may have a more or less similar 

 tint or may be more green, or yellow; in many specimens the general color 

 of the spine is more or less dark brown, with the primary color flesh red 

 or yellow brown. There is a great deal of variety in the shades of color 

 in perplexa, some individuals being notably dark while many specimens, 

 especially when young are definitely light. But no matter what the shades 

 may be one feature of the coloration is remarkably constant and that is 

 the longitudinal dark stripe found on all the secondaiy, and smaller, spines. 



Distribution. — Judging from the Velero collections, this Cidarid is 

 particularly characteristic of the Gulf of California, having been taken at 

 16 stations, as far north as 29° 39'. Off the west coast of Lower Cali- 

 fornia, there are no records, save one half grown specimen in poor condi- 

 tion supposed to be from Station 1119-40, south of San Benito Islands, 

 and a very young individual also in poor condition labeled as from 

 Station 1153-40, off Santa Catalina Island, California. It is probable that 

 these two specimens have in some way become mislabeled.^ South of 

 Lower California, no specimens were taken save at Bahia Honda, Panama, 

 (Stations 244-34, 863-38, and 948-39) in 30-50 fms, north of Gorgona 

 Island, Colombia (Stations 854-38 and 855-38) in 10-60 fms, and off 

 La Plata Island, Ecuador, (Stations 212-34, 213-34) in 7-55 fms. The 

 entire absence of perplexa from the Galapagos area is worthy of note and 

 even more remarkable is its absence from the vicinity of Cocos Island, 

 where panamensis is common. 



Type.— M.C.Z. no. 188. 



Type locality. — Gulf of California. 



Depth. — 36-39 fms. 



Specimens examined. — 487 from 25 stations. 



1 There are evidences in the studies of other groups that unexpected distribu- 

 tional records are not uncommon. The work of the Velero III must be considered as 

 the preliminary exploration of a coast involving many miles with little information 

 concerning the fauna of the intervening areas. Ed. 



