ART. 16 SOUTH AMERICAN SEA STARS FISHER 7 



the smaller example the abactinal skeleton is clearlj' visible and con- 

 sists of a weak, irregular reticulum resembling the condition in A. 

 pediceUuHs as figured by Koehler ^ and closely similar to that of the 

 type specimen of minuta. Most of the superomarginals carry one 

 spinelet and the inferomarginals two, while scattered along the inter- 

 marginal channel and inside the furrow margin are rather numerous, 

 lanceolate, straight pedicellariae two-thirds the length of the supero- 

 marginal spinelets. In the larger specimen, however, the abactinal 

 integument has thickened and conceals the skeleton, which is quite 

 weak and irregular as in Koehler's Plate 5, Figure 1, alluded to 

 above. The proportions are about as in Figure 4. There are a few 

 actinal plates and spines at the base of the ray and the adoral carina 

 is composed of three pairs of contiguous adambulacrals, the first pair 

 larger than second, and the second larger than third. The supero- 

 marginal spines have been mostly absorbed; pedicellariae as in the 

 small example. A third specimen (No. 2824) carries a cluster of 

 young. 



Sixteen specimens from Port Stanley, Falkland Islands, collected 

 February to April, 1927, by Dr. Waldo L. Schmitt (pis. 6, 7). These 

 are evidently conspecific with the Darwin Harbor examples. A well- 

 hardened alcoholic example (R., 48 mm.) resembles the Kalyptas- 

 teHas conferta figured by Koehler.* The abactinal plates are slender, 

 delicate, and form an irregular reticulum, with very large meshes, 

 and are entirely hidden until dried by the soft pulpy integument. 

 Dorsal spinelets few and widely scattered; only a few abactinal 

 crossed and straight pedicellariae. Superomargihal plates normal, 

 not massive, each with one blunt, terete, slender spinelet, 1 to 1.5 

 millimeters long; inferomarginals with two decidedly stouter and 

 longer spines; actinal plates with one spine, slightly smaller, the 

 series extending two-thirds length of ray, each spine forming with 

 the inferomarginal spines a transverse series of three. Numerous, 

 rather thickly lanceolate, subobtuse straight pedicellariae, decidedly 

 longer than broad, are scattered on the marginal and actinal plates 

 in the intermarginal channel and along edge of furrow. No asso- 

 ciated cross pedicellariae^ except near the end of the ray, and there 

 only a few. [In Sporasterias antarctica the superomarginals are nor- 

 mally surrounded by crossed pedicellariae, and the inferomarginal 

 plates carry at least a few on the intermarginal side of the spines.] 



Another lot of nine from Port Stanley (April 16, 1927) differs 

 in having numerous small capitate abactinal spinelets and fairly nu- 

 merous abactinal (but not marginal) crossed pedicellariae; straight 

 pedicellariae scattered over abactinal surface and distributed later- 



3 Swed. Antarctic Exp., vol. 1, no. 1, 1923, pi. 5, figs. 1 and 4. 

 * Idem, pi. 4, figs. 3 and 4. 



