JAPANESE ASTEROIDEA. 428' 



appear almost perfectly smooth to the naked eye. The papular 

 pores form groups of three to five on the disk, mostly situated in 

 the interspaces between tlie corners of the abactinal plates, but in 

 the distal half of the arms they occur single. They are absent 

 in the interradial lines. 



Super omargi7ials. — These vary in number from 14 to 19 in my 

 specimens. In the interbrachial arcs they present a Hghtly convex 

 rounded surface which shows both on the abactinal side and the 

 lateral margin ; further out in the arms the lateral and abactinal 

 surfaces are more distinct from each other, although the edge is 

 well rounded all through (PI. XIV, fig. 219). In the interbrachial 

 arcs they look almost rectangular in outline both from the abac- 

 tinal and the lateral side. They are uniformly covered with very 

 fine granules, which are somewhat coarser toward the borders, and 

 with similar granules of the adjacent plates form in some cases 

 an elevated distinct line between the plates. Most of the supero- 

 marginal plates bear a few valvate transversely elongated pedi- 

 cellarise, which may be very small and inconspicuous and easily 

 overlooked, especially in wet specimens. They are, however, 

 sometimes considerably elongated transversely, and in such cases 

 are rather conspicuous. 



Inferomarginals, — The inferomarginals are strictly coincident 

 with the superomarginals, and present a more angular edge, espe- 

 cially in the inter brachial arcs, so that the lateral and actinal faces 

 are very distinct (PI. XIV, fig. 220). The granules covering them 

 are exactly like those of the superomarginals, but the striking 

 difference between the plates of the two series is that the in- 

 feromarginals bear each a movable spatulate spine articulated 

 with the plate by means of a constricted base. These spines 



