ASTEROIDEA 245 



Lysasterias joffrei (Koehler) 



Paedasterias Joffrei Koehler, 1920, p. 30, pi. i, figs. 3, 4, 9; pi. 2, figs. 7, 8, 9; pi. 56, fig. 2. 

 Lysasterias joffrei Fisher, 1930, p. 236. 



St. 1660. Ross Sea, 74° 46-4' S, 178° 23-4' E, 351 m., i specimen. 



St. 1957. Off south side Clarence Island, South Shetlands, 785-810 m., i specimen. 



Koehler's only specimen, having R 80-85 mm., r 13 mm., was taken in 354 fathoms in 

 D'Urville Sea, off AdeUe Land (66° 50' S, 142° 06' E). The specimen from St. 1660 

 measures R 53 mm., r 8-9 mm., br 10 mm. The rays are narrow, evenly tapered and 

 high arched, being as high at base as width. 



This species and chirophora are notable for the great reduction of the marginal plates. 

 I examined a portion of the body wall at base of the ray. The inferomarginals are very 

 small, much longer than high as seen from the coelomic side and touch end to end. 

 A small ovate or elliptical superomarginal is imbricated to the upper lobe of each infero- 

 marginal, and therefore widely separated one from another. There are no supero- 

 marginal spinelets except 2 or 3 very small ones at tip of ray. The series of supero- 

 marginal sheaths or pustules can, however, be traced to base of ray as they are a little 

 larger than the superjacent abactinal pustules. The inferomarginal spines are single and 

 the thick compound sheaths with numerous large crossed pedicellariae press against the 

 upright adambulacral spines. 



The conspicuous pedunculate straight pedicellariae (1-4 mm. long) which Koehler 

 names "en palette" are only slightly different from ordinary lanceolate ones, the jaws 

 being more oblong than tapered, with rounded ends without conspicuous teeth. 

 Occasionally they resemble a very narrow turtle's head in miniature. They are some- 

 what more widely distributed than in the type for, in addition to being fairly numerous 

 on the abactinal area and sides of rays, they occur also in the actinal interradial areas, on 

 the mouth-plates, and furrow face of the first few adambulacrals, being succeeded on the 

 remainder by conspicuously smaller ones not greatly different in shape. 



In this specimen the inferomarginal crossed pedicellariae are larger than the abactinal 

 and are the same size as in type (i mm. long). 



The small specimen, St. 1957, R about 24 mm., r 6 mm., is placed here with some 

 misgivings. The marginal plates, still fairly robust, seem to be undergoing degeneration. 

 In the arm axils are i or 2 conspicuous spatulate pedicellariae without teeth. 



Lysasterias hemiora sp.nov. 



(Fig. L, 3; Plate XX, fig. 2) 



Diagnosis. In general appearance resembling a narrow-rayed L. perrieri but lacking 

 a series of superomarginal spinelets or of substitute differentiated pustules, the small 

 roundish abactinal pustules appearing to extend right up to the abruptly larger infero- 

 marginal spines and their enclosing sheaths. R 66 mm., r 13 mm., br 13 mm., height of 

 ray at base 12 mm.; ray narrow, very gradually tapered to bluntly pointed extremity, 



D .XX 23 



