152 BULLETIN OF THE 



Mr. Pourtali'S, which I have been compelled to unite under one name, 

 together with three other forms that seemed at first sight quite distinct 

 both from one another and from the two species of Mr. Pourtalcs. 



The importance of the collection made by the " Llake " in the season 

 1878-79 may be gathered from the fact that it contains nearly three 

 times the number of species previously known as inhabiting the Carib- 

 bean Sea. Under the general name of Antedon Mr. Pourtales had 

 described five species of Antedon and four of Actinometra, which were 

 obtained by the U. S. Coast Survey steamers " Corwin," "Bibl),"and 

 "Hassler," in 1867-72, and by the "Blake" in 1877-78. During a 

 visit to the principal European museums, in the autumn of last year, I 

 examined nine West Indian ComaUdce, including six species of Actino- 

 metra and three of Antedon. I believe a few of them to be identical 

 with some of the species of Mr. Pourtales. 



Hence, before I commenced work on the " Blake " collection from the 

 Caribbean Sea, I was acquainted with less than twenty species of Goma- 

 tidce from that area. Pending the completion of my memoir on the 

 Comatuke of the *' Challenger " Expedition, I am unable to give the 

 " Blake " collection the critical attention which is more than ever 

 necessary on account of the number of dviplicates which it contains. 

 But so far as I can judge at present, it includes nearl}'^ forty new species, 

 besides most of those from the same region which were already known 

 to me. Altogether, therefore, I should estimate that the number of 

 Comatula species now known to inhabit the Caribbean Sea is about 

 fifty-five, nearly three quarters of which were first obtained Ijy the 

 "Blake" Expedition of 1878-79. 



Comatid(E were dredged at fifty-seven out of the two hundred stations 

 occupied during this season's work. Nearly all of them were in com- 

 paratively shallow water, i. e. in depths less than 200 fathoms. On 

 three occasions only did the depth exceed 300 fathoms ; viz. Nos. ir)0, 

 151, and 222, the depths being ?u?>l, 3.50, and 422 fiithoms respectively ; 

 and the Comatnhie obtained at these stations represent new autl very 

 singular types. The remarkable form Atelecrinus (nov. gen.. Figs. 1—7) 

 was met with at each station ; and at No. 222 the unique specimen 

 of Antedon co/umnaris (n. sp.), which is represented in Fig. 8, was also 

 obtained. 



These facts agree very well with the results of the "Challenger" 

 dredging?,* which only yielded Comatula' at twenty stations wliere the 



* Pn4imin;iry Rei)ort upon thts Coma1.nl m of tlu; " Challuiigcr " ExiHMlitiou. 

 Proceedings of tin; Iloy:i.l Society, No. 194, 1.S79, \>\). 383-8S6. 



