ASTEROIDEA 249 



Diplasterias obviously antedates Podasterias Perrier, 1894, even if the generic diagnosis 

 is vague in the hght of modern information. Diplasterias made no deep impression on 

 Perrier's mind, because he readily abandons it on p. 160 of the Cape Horn paper, in a 

 comment on Sladen's recently published subdivisions of Asterias. Here he merges his 

 Diplasterias with Sladen's Asterias. 



On the same page (1891, p. 160) he unfortunately introduces Podasterias for the 

 Asterias sidcifera group, stating that Cosmasterias has priority for this generic division. 

 This is the first occurrence of Podasterias in literature. But in 1894,^ disregarding his 

 Podasterias of 1891, he introduced a quite different Podasterias for species near A. 

 lUtkeni. This is precisely synonymous with his Diplasterias of 189 1, and is the Podasterias 

 used by Verrill, Koehler after 19 17, and Fisher, 1923. Podasterias of 1891 must ob- 

 viously be discarded for Cosmasterias, while that of 1894 had no status when proposed, 

 being a homonym of the first, as well as a synonym of Diplasterias. 



Disregarding his Diplasterias of 1891, Perrier in 1894^ employs Diplasterias in a 

 different sense, namely, for Asterias Linnaeus. In this paper the Asteriidae lack a genus 

 Asterias. 



In 1896- Podasterias is preserved for Diplasterias lUtkeni, Asterias is reinstated, and 

 Diplasterias discarded entirely. 



Ludwig in 1903^ used Diplasterias in the sense in which I advocate employing it. 

 Meissner in 1904'' employed the name for Cosmasterias plus Diplasterias. Koehler in 

 1906, 1908, and 1912, used Diplasterias to include also Cryptasterias Verrill, 1914. In 

 1917, and subsequent papers, Koehler adopted Podasterias with very nearly the limits I 

 have assigned to Diplasterias. In 19 14 Verrill^ used Podasterias for Diplasterias but 

 assigned Asterias hrandti Bell, A. alba Bell, A. neglecta Bell, and A. obtiisispinosa Bell to 

 Cosmasterias, the last three as possible synonyms of C. liirida (Philippi). 



In 1930 I placed Studer's Asterias steineni along with his A. georgiana in a new genus 

 Neosmilaster, leaving in Diplasterias, brandti (Bell), brucei (Koehler), fochi (Koehler), 

 kergiielensis (Koehler), meridionalis (Perrier), and vesiculosa (Sladen). 



Diplasterias brandti (Bell) 



Asterias brandti Bell, 1881, p. 91, pi. 9. 



Asterias neglecta Bell, 1881, p. 94, pi. 9. 



[Asterias alba Bell, 1881, pp. 92, 506.] 



[Asterias obtiisispinosa Bell, 1881, pp. 92, 93.] 



Asterias belli Studer, Abh. Akad. Berlin, 1884, pp. 12, 13, pi. i. 



Asterias glomerata Sladen, 1889, p. 571, pi. 105, figs. 1-4. 



Diplasterias loveni Perrier, 1891, p. 80. 



Diplasterias lUtkeni Perrier, 1891, p. 81. — Ludwig, 1903, p. 41. 



1 Exped. Travailleur et Talisman, pp. 107, 108 (key). 



- Resultats camp. set. Prince de Monaco, fasc. 11, 1896, pp. 34, 35. 



^ Expedition Antarctiqiie Beige, Seesterne, p. 41. 



* Hatnburger Magalhaensische Sammelreise, Asteroideen, pp. 5-9. 



'" Shallow-water Starfishes, p. 361. 



