494 s. goto: 



Avliicli luis been uained Oreaster muriratm Gbay var. mnllca by v. Martens 

 ['()G, p. 80]. Il' so, it Villi not l)e said that it is very common, at least for 

 Japan taken as a whole, for the S[)ecies of this gemis are, so far as well 

 antlienticated cases go, confined to the llyûkyû and Liiischoten Archipelagoes 

 and possibly to the southern coasts of the Island of Kyùshû. Neither is the 

 ))ractice of using it as s])0(j1s at all common. It is true tliat the name of 

 Itomaki-Hitode i.e. spool starfish is Avidely used, but it is, so far as I know, 

 used mainly for species of Afferma and has rviference only to its fancied 

 resemblance to certain forms of Ja])anese S[X)ols. I do not know of any 

 actual case where it is used as S[X)ols for sawing threads. 



A study of the literature of this species leads one to the conclusion that 

 it is i)robal)ly specificall}' identical with O. nodosus, and it is more in defer- 

 ence t<^ authorities that it is here treated of under a separate heading. 



Aside from a single X)i'e-Linn8ean reference to this species it is mentioned 

 for the first time by Blainville in his " Manuel d'actinologie " ['34, p. 238] 

 Tmder the name of Asteria UnJdi, with a reference to Linck, tab. 7, No. 8. 

 Its first description ai3pears to be that of Gray, Avliich runs as follows ['40, 

 ].. 277] : 



"8. Perdaceros muricatus, Linck, t. 7. f. 8. Ast. Linchî, Blainv. A. 

 nodosa. Lam. 8eba, iii. t. 7. f. 3. Arms elongated, nearly as long as the 

 width of the Iwdy, with a dorsal series of large, and with 2 or 3 large 

 conical spines near the tips ; back rather high, spinose. 



"Inhab. . Brit. Mus." 



It is placed in tliat section of the genus which has the " back formed 

 of irregular eLmgated ossicula, apparently reticulated; the spines Avith elon- 

 gated bases, interspaces closel}' punctured." 



DuJjVRDIN and HurÉ mention tliis species under the name of 0. mur'i- 

 ratus, giving references to LiNCK, t. 7, No. 8, Blainville ['34, p. 238] and 

 Gray ['40], and simply adds, "Habite les mei-s de l'Inde." 



LÜTKEN giA-es a A-ery full description of this species ['04, p. 156] : 

 " Linck afbilder t. VII fig. 8 en 



meget udpmeget Oreasler- Form, som 

 han i sin Text betegner S(«n ' Pen- 



LmCK figiu'es in his t. VII fig. 

 8 a A-ery pronounced Oreaster- form, 

 Avliich in his taxt he nam ^s ' Pentaceros 



