STARFISHES OF THE PHILIPPINE SEAS. 17 



III. Relationships of Philippine Fauna, 



As summarized at the end of Section T, the species which range 

 beyond Philippine waters include : First, about 25 species with a wide 

 Irido-Pacific distribution and a very slight vertical range below low 

 tide (Section I, a, 6, c) ; second, 19 species which extend to Celebes 

 or to the Molucca Islands and the seas at the south (Section I, z, j) ; 

 third, 6 species which occur in the Bay of Bengal and 1 in the Ara- 

 bian Sea (Section I, d^ e) ; fourth, 5 species which range to the 

 Hawaiian Islands (k), of which 3 also extend to the Indian region 

 (all deep water) ; fifth, 3 species which are members of the Japanese 

 fauna, 1 being also Pacific (h). Of the remaining 6, 3 are China 

 Sea species and 3 are from the western Pacific. 



Excluding the widely distributed Indo-Pacific forms, the remain- 

 der seem to show a preference for the seas to the south of the Phil- 

 ippines and for the Bay of Bengal. 



If the deep-water species alone are considered the following is 

 the result : 10 species range to Celebes and the Moluccas, and 3 others 

 to the Arafura Sea; 3 species extend from Hawaii to the Indian 

 region ; 2 from the Philippines to Hawaii ; 1 to the Straits of Korea 

 (not free from doubt as to specific identity). 



If the species which were taken only in the Philippine Islands are 

 listed along with their nearest known relatives, somewhat similar 

 results are obtained. In the three tables which follow, certain species 

 (marked with an asterisk) are included which range into the China 

 Sea or to the Celebes region. Of course it is likely that nearly all 

 the s])ecies considered have a much more extended distribution than 

 the limited data warrant us in asserting. 



It will be seen that 25 species have relatives in the Indian region, 

 although in some cases showing kinship with Pacific or Moluccan 

 forms; 12 have related forms in the region from Celebes to Torres 

 Strait; 12 have related species ranging to, or so far as known, con- 

 fined to the Hawaiian Islands; 7 have Japanese affiliations (shared 

 in some cases with Indian connections) ; and 5 others have represent- 

 ative forms in distant parts of the Pacific. One form, not listed be- 

 low, Astropecfen vappa inaequalis^ is closely related to A. vappa of 

 New South Wales and southwest Australia. 

 Philippine Species with apparent nearest Relatives in the Indian Region. 



Philippine species. ' Related species. 



AslToipeclen mindanensis • A. andcrsonl 



AstTopecten tenellus ' A. griegi Koehler. 



AslTopecten pedicellaris | do. 



A. tenellus Fisher ' 



Psilaster gotoi i P. agassizi (Koehler) not very close.. 



1 P.robustus Fisher 



Habitat of related species. 



Bay of Bengal. 



Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean. 



Do. 

 Philippines, shallower water. 

 Bay of Bengal. 

 Moluccas. 



1 In a number of cases 2 related species are given. 



