JAPANESE ASTEKOrDEA. 205 



somewhat flattened, straight or slightly curved, conical spines. 

 The adcentral one-third or a little less is covered with snbcapillary 

 spinelets, which are more closely set towards the centre. It must, 

 however, be remarked that the transition between the two sections 

 is gradual, and on the two plates on either side of the interradial 

 line, the subcapillary spinelets are found near both the proximal 

 and the distal margin. In all my specimens the conspicuously 

 large spines are all directed obliquely outwards and towards the 

 tip of the arms. There are no transverse grooves between the 

 plates. The inferomarginal plates are strictly contingent with the 

 snperomarginals throughout the length of the arms. 



Adambulacrals. — Except a few plates next the mouth, each 

 adambulacral plate presents a sharply pointed wedge-shaped edge 

 towards the furrow, and along this edge is a series of six or 

 seven subequal spines, one of which invariably occupies the apex 

 of the wedge and is lightly curved and flattened (PL II, fig. 11). 

 On the actinal surface of the plate are 6-11 spines, a few of 

 which are conspicuously larger than those of the furrow series. 

 Of the spines of the actinal surface three or four always He in 

 the angle formed by the furrow series, and are, in the dried 

 specimens, agglutinated together and with the farrow spines by 

 a gelatinous substance. This circumstance makes the detection 

 of the furrow series from the actinal side somewhat difficult, but 

 a view from the furrow at once brings them out in relief. The 

 first adambulacral plate is short and wide, and carries two 

 somewhat irregular, parallel series of spines which become smaller 

 towards the furrow ; the second is intermediate in character 

 between the first and the third which usually presents the peculiari- 

 ties described above. 



