JAPANESE ASTEEOroEA. 377 



" Localities. — ' Porcupine ' Expedition : 



" Station 31. Between the north of Ireland and Rockall. Lat. 56° 15' 

 N., long. 11° 25' W. Depth 1360 fathoms. Bottom temperatm-e 2°.9 C. ; 

 sm'face temperature 13°.8 C. 



"In Sir Wyville Thomson's popularly written Depths of the Sea, the 

 occmTence of this species is specially mentioned on at least two occasions 

 {he. cit., pp. 122,181), but the exact localities are not given, and I have not 

 seen any other specimens in the collections placed in my hands excepting 

 the one under notice. 



" Other localities. — Finmark, Lofoten, coast of Norway, off Shetland." 



According to Fisher the Pseudarchaster intermedius of Sladen is another 

 synonym of this variable species. Its original descrii^tion is as follows 

 [Sladen, '89, p. 115] : 



" Pseudarchaster intermedins, u. sp. (PI. XIX. figs. 3 and 4 ; PL XLH. 

 figs. 5 and 9). 



" Eays five. Ii=:35mm. ; r=llmm. Il>3 r. 



" Rays moderately long, tapering continuously from the base to a finely 

 pointed extremity ; breadth midway between the centre of the disk and the 

 extremity, 6,5 mm. Interbrachial arcs well-rounded. 



"The paxillfB of the abactinal area are rather small, subcircular, and 

 closely placed, sm*mounted by ten to fifteen short, truncate, polygonal spine- 

 lets, two or tln-ee central ones usually larger than the rest, but these are 

 irregular in disposition, and smaller ones may appear at the periphery and 

 increase the difiiculty of enumerating the spinelets. The paxillae are dis- 

 posed in regular longitudinal lines along the ray, a median radial series 

 being clearly distinguishable and slightly larger than the others. The primary 

 embryonic plates are discernible, though not much larger than the neigh- 

 bouring plates external to them. Tlie paxillœ diminish slightly in size as 

 they approach the margin and proceed along the ray. A considerable num- 

 ber of smaller paxilloe occupy the area witliin the circle of the primaiy 

 basal plates, and the dorso-central plate is small and inconspicuous. The 

 madreporiform body is small and sunken, and lies external to its adjacent 

 primary basal plate. 



