STAEFISHES OP THE PHILIPPINE SEAS. 69 



ASTROPECTEN VAPPA INAEQUALIS, new subspecies. 



Diagnosis. — Differing from Astropecten vapjya Miiller and 

 Troschel^ in having slenderer raj^s, a noticeably narrower paxillar 

 area, very unequal subambulacral spines in the first series, the aboral 

 being much longer and broader than the adoral spine, and in having 

 more delicate, rather less granuliform superomarginal spinelets. 

 R = about 62 mm., r = about 15 mm., R == about 4 r; breadth of ray 

 at base, 16 mm. ; breadth of paxillar area on same transverse line, at 

 second superomarginal, 7 or 8 mm. 



Description. — Paxillae compact, close set. the larger at base of ray 

 and adjacent portion of disk, with about 15 terete peripheral spine- 

 lets and upward of 12 central shorter, somewhat thicker ones. Across 

 the ray from one second inferomarginal to the opposite side, 10 to 12 

 paxillae can be counted. There are about 2 rows of paxillae to each 

 superomarginal. 



Superomarginal plates about 36, their proportions and major 

 spines as in vappa. There is a series of short conical spines extend- 

 ing the whole length of the ray, the first on the inner margin of the 

 plate, while the next 4 or 5 are successively nearer the middle of 

 plate, an approximate position maintained by the remainder of the 

 series. Central spinelets of dorsal face of plates appreciably coarser 

 and shorter than those of lateral face, and slightly coarser than the 

 central spinelets of paxillae. 



There are 2 lateral inferomarginal spines (the lower about two- 

 thirds or three-fourths the length of the upper), sharp, somewhat 

 flattened on the basal third of ray. They are usually accompanied 

 by 2 to 4 squamiform spinules which stand on the adoral side of their 

 bases. On the first 2 or 3 inferomarginals there are 3 to 5 flattened, 

 broad, sublanceolate, appressed spinules, much shorter than the main 

 lateral spines, in a row on the actinal surface of plate; on the rest 

 of the plates of the proximal half of the ray there are 1 or 2 such 

 spinules near the aboral border. 



Actinal intermediate plates, 4 in each interradius. 

 The median adambulacral furrow spine is compressed and longer 

 than the laterals. In the next row are 2 spines, of which the aboral 

 is much the larger, flattened, strap-shaped, with a truncate or slightly 

 rounded tip, and about 2 mm. long. The proximal spine of this 

 series is situated slightly nearer to the furrow, and beyond the base 

 of ray it is about 0.6 the length of the other, and very much slen- 

 derer. Back of this series are a few delicate spinelets. 

 Type.—C^t. No. 40124, U.S.N.M. 



Type-locality. — Station 5174, vicinity of Jolo, 20 fathoms, coarse 

 sand; 1 sj^ecimen. 



* As described by Doderleln, 1917, p. 124, pi. 5, flg. 1 ; pi. 11, figs. 2, 2a, 3. 

 13434— Bull. 100—19 6 



