:\r()\oaRArir of .iapanese ophiuroidea. 51 



much rosomble the typo of A. œdljms (Ly:\[an), but aro distiiignisli- 

 od froui it chiefly by tlic presence of abundant dermal granules, 

 by the nm(îh shorter and stouter arms, and by the tentacle pores 

 with a single spine extending further into the arms. 



Through Dr. IT. L. Oi.aiîk's kindness, I was able to examine a 

 specimen of his " Ophiocreas œdlpus'' from Japan. It is, in my 

 opinion, undoubtedly i-eferable to the present species, so I have no 

 hesitation to drop /Uteroschema [Ophiocreas) œcllpus from the list 

 of Japanese ophiurans. 



Asteroschema (Ophiocreas) Japoniciini (KrEHT.ER). 



Ophiocreas japonicus : Kœhlkk, Bull. Sei. Fr. l>elg., XT J, 1907, p. 

 .346, PL XIV, fig. 54. 



OjMocrcas papiUafus : Ct>ai!K, lînll. Mns. Comp. Zool., U, 190S, p. 

 298. 



^isteroscliema {Opldo<'reas) jctponlcus : Düderlein, Abh. Muth.-riij-s. 

 Kl. K. Bayer. Akad. AViss., Snppl.-Bd. I, 1911, p. 59, Bl. VI, figs. 5 k ^a, 

 PL VII, fig. 9. 



Asteroscliema (Ophiocreas) monacanthum : ibid., p. 58, PI. AT, figs. 

 9-9 &. 



Asierosckema (^Ophiocreas) enoshimanum : ibid., p. GO, PL AT, figs. S 

 & 8r/. 



One specimen ; Suruga Gulf. Three specimens ; Okinosc, Saga- 

 mi Sea ; 200 fathoms. Numerous specimens ; outside Okinosé ; 

 330 fathoms, Numerous specimens ; Sagami Sea. 



These specimens range from very small t(,) very large ones 

 representing all growth stages. In the larger ones, the skin is 

 entirely free of granules. In somewhat smaller specimens, the 

 skin contains some granules in the disk and arm bases, while in 

 still smaller ones, the skin is strongly granulated on the dorsal, as 

 well as on the ventral, surface of the disk and arms. The oral 



