MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY. 241 



Ophiocoma rosula Forbes, Brit. Starfishes, 60, 1841. 

 Ophiothrix fragilis Mull. & Troscil, Syst. d. Asterid., 110, 1842. 

 « echinata " " " "111, " 



" alopecurus " " " " " " 



tricolor " " " " 112, " 



Ferussacii 

 " quinquemaculata " 



" Rammelsbergii " 113, 



" fragilis (yar. tenuispi?ia) Sars, Middelhavets Littoral Fauna, II. 



p. 74, 18.3 7. 

 " alba (?) Grube, AViegmann's Archiv., 185 7, 344. 

 " rosula Lyman, Illust. Catalogue, 154, 18G5. 



echinata Litkex, Addit. ad Hist. Oph., III. 52 and 104, 1869. 

 " quinquemaculata " " 



" fragilis " " 



" " Ljungman, Vestindiska oeh Atlantiska'Oph., 623, 1871. 



" lusitanica " " " " " 625, " 



« pentaphyllum " " " " " 622, " 



rubra ' " " " " " C24, " 



« maculata " " " " " fi -'3, " 



" echinata « " " " " 653, " 



" Lutkeni, Wyv. Thomson, Depths of the Sea, 100, 1873. 



Do all these names refer to one species or to many? I have tried to 



throw some light on this question by bringing together for study as many 



originals and as great a number of specimens as possible. 

 In this way I had, side by side, in Paris : — 



Ophiothrix echinata. Original of Mull. & Trosch. ; by courtesy of Professor 

 Peters. 



Ophiothrix Rammelsbergii. Original of Mull. & Trosch. ; by courtesy of 

 Professor Peters. 



Ophiothrix alba. Original of Grube ; by courtesy of Professor Grube. 



Ophiothrix fragilis. Originals, as identified by Ljungman with Abild- 

 gaard's Asterias ; by courtesy of Professor Love'n. 



Ophiothrix Lusitanica. Original of Ljungman ; by courtesy of Professor Loven. 



Ophiothrix pentaphyllum. Originals as identified by Ljungman with Pen- 

 nant's Asterias ; by courtesy of Professor Loven. 



Besides these were great quantities of specimens from the coasts of Den- 

 mark and Sweden, the Isle of Wight, the northwest coast of France, coast of 

 Portugal, Madeira (?), Algeria, Spezia, Naples, the northern Adriatic, and 

 the coast of Egypt. 



VOL. III. 16 



