ASTEROIDEA 273 



Coscinasterias calamaria (Gray) 



(Fig. L, 5, sb) 



Astenas calamaria Gray, 1840, p. 179. 



Coscinasterias calamaria Perrier, 1894, p. 106.— Fisher, 1928, p. 128.— Clark, H. L., 1938, p. 189. 



St. 1686. Port Philip, Victoria, Australia (piles of Queen's Cliff Jetty), i specimen. 

 A wide ranging, variable species. The specimen has 9 rays and R 35 mm. 



Marthasterias glacialis forma rarispina Perrier 



Asterias rarispina Perrier, 1875, p. 62. 



Marthasterias rarispina Clark, 1923, p. 305. 



Marthasterias glacialis var. rarispina Mortensen, 1933, p. 273, pi. 16, figs. 2, 3. 



St. 90. Simon's Town, False Bay, South Africa, 2-10 m., 7 specimens. 

 St. 91. Same locality, 35 m., 4 specimens. 



The largest specimen has R 95 mm. All are the extreme form, without dorsolateral 

 spines, similar to Mortensen's fig. 2. 



A colour note to St. 91 reads: "lilac with apricot spines". One wishes for a colour 



plate ! 



The multispinous form, africana, figured by Mortensen, is not present in the collec- 

 tion, although I have seen it. Such variation in the number of spines is similar to the 

 condition found in Pisaster giganteus and P. brevispinns of California. 



When adequate material has been compared, I believe that a small but constant 

 difference will be found between typical north European specimens and those from 

 South Africa. One distinction may be a small average difference in the size of the crossed 

 pedicellariae. I have followed Mortensen's nomenclature for the sake of stability, but 

 I think the South African form will eventually be Marthasterias glacialis africana 

 (Perrier) with forma africana, forma rarispina, and probably others if one cares to name 

 them. 



