JAPANESE ASTEROIDEA. 309 



but slightly smaller spines on the external side parallel to the 

 first series. The most abcentral portion of the mouth-plates is 

 covered with fine, slender, pointed spines, similar to those of the 

 ventrolateral and the outer part of the adambulacral plates. 



Ventrolaterals. — There is a series of ventrolateral plates 

 between the adambulacrals and the inferomarginals, extending to 

 the tip of the arms, but becoming somewhat indistinct in the 

 distal part, owing to their fusion with the inferomarginal plates. 

 Those in the interradii bear each five or six slender, pointed 

 spines, and a few of them may be armed with pedicellariae, 

 similar in form to those of the adambulacral plates but smaller. 

 In the more distal part of the arms, the ventrolaterals bear only 

 two or three spines each. 



Paxillce. — The marginal paxillaß representing the superomargi- 

 nals are square and mostly bear one or more lozenge- shaped, 

 valvate pedicellarigß. These are especially numerous in and near 

 the interbrachial angles, so that in this part there may be two 

 or even three of them on a single plate. The paxillao of this 

 row lying near the interbrachial angle usually bear each 10-12 

 central granules and some 25 peripheral spinelets. The difference 

 between these two sets are generally very distinct, the centrals 

 being short, rounded and granuliform, and the peripherals very 

 fine and almost ciliary in appearance though rather short. In 

 typical paxillae there is a single row of these peripherals around 

 the margin of the tabulum ; but there are others in which this 

 difference is not so sharp, and in such ones there may be one or 

 more rows of spines or granules intermediate in character 

 between the two sets, or these intermediate spines may form a 

 patch among the truly granular ones. 



