70 BULLETIN 100, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



Distribution. — Known only from the type-locality. 



Remarks. — I have based my comparisons of this form upon the 

 figures and description given by Doderlein in his recent revision of 

 Astropecten (Doderlein, 1917). 



In the general appearance of the abactinal surface, inaequalis 

 bears a close resemblance to the figure of A. mauritiensis (= A. hen- 

 galensis Doderlein) given by Koehler in his Shallow-water Aster- 

 oidea (Koehler, 1910<z, pi. 5, fig. 7), except that in inaequalis the 

 paxillar area is narrower. Doderlein on plate 5, figure 1, gives a 

 clear figure of the dorsal aspect of a specimen of vappa from Sharks 

 Bay, Australia. As compared with this, the paxillar field of 

 inaequalis is much narrower, occupying only about half the total 

 width of the ray at base, while in vappa it occupies two-thirds. Do- 

 derlein's figure 2<2, plate 11, shows that the adoral spine of the inner 

 subambulacral series is relatively much larger than in inaequalis. 

 In vappa there are apparently more conspicuous and rather more 

 numerous actinal inferomarginal spines in addition to the 2 lateral 

 spines. 



The present race seems to be more nearly related to vappa than to 

 acanthifer., although the latter is found in the Banda Sea and near 

 Flores, two localities geographically nearer than the habitat of 

 vappa., which is recorded by Doderlein from southwest Australia and 

 New South Wales, In acanthifer the marginal spines are all slen- 

 derer and the inferomarginal armature is more bristling. There is 

 a well-developed, conical, sharp actinal inferomarginal spine instead 

 of an aboral series of flattened, sublanceolate, appressed spinules. 



ASTROPECTEN VELITARIS von Martens. 



Plate 11, figs. 3, 4 ; plate 14, fig. 2. 



Astropecten velitaris Von Martens, 1865. p. 360. — Sladen, 1889, p. 214. — 

 Doderlein, 1896, p. 307, pi. 18, figs. 32, 32a ; 1917, p. 159, pi. 6, figs. 5, 15, 

 16 ; pi. 15, figs. 3-3cf.— Koehler, 1910a, p. 44. 



Notes on Philippine specimens. — The largest specimen in the col- 

 lection has R=32 mm., r=9 mm., R:=:3.55; another has R=:32 mm., 

 r=8.5 mm. There are numerous specimens nearly as large. These 

 are not "young," for the gonads are well developed. If this form 

 is true velitaris, as it seems to be, the idea that it is the young of A, 

 hemprichii., or of some other species, may be definitely abandoned. 



Most of the specimens have a stout conical superomarginal spine 

 on the first plate only, but a small percentage have a spine on some 

 of the second plates. Thus, one example has either 3 or 4 superomar- 

 ginal spines in the interbrachia, while others have 2 or 3, or 2 to 4, 

 or very rarely 4 in all the interbrachia. 



Paxillar area compact; paxillae large, the bases oblong, with 

 6 short lobes on the papular areas of ray, and irregularly circular 



