STARFISHES OF THE PHILIPPINE SEAS. 1G7 



lariae taperiiii>- f^lighth' when seen from side (iiiitapered or obo\ate 

 ill asthenosoma) . Eays 5. R=aboiit 120 mm., r=aboiit 14 mm. The 

 tip of ray is regenerating, so that the original was considerably 

 longer. Breadth of ray at base, 15 mm. 



Description. — The paxillae greath^ resemble those of L. astheno- 

 soina, having longer and slenderer spinelets than are present in 

 sarsi., even a little longer than in afriraim. The small paxillae of 

 median portion of ray have slender pedicels, which usually are 

 broader at the top and bear 1 to 4 or 5 central and 8 to 12 periph- 

 eral, thorny, sharp spinelets about three-fourths the length of the 

 pedicel. The crest of the superomarginal paxillae is crescent i form, 

 with the concavity abutting on the upper end of the inferomarginul. 

 Each paxilla bears 20 to 80 long, slender spinelets. There are about 



2 regular series of paxillae parallel to the superomarginal, of which 



3 correspond to 5.5 of the dorsolateral, Earely an obovate two- 

 jawed pedicellaria is present on one of the small median paxillae. 

 These are usually nuuierous in asthenoso'nm. 



The inferomarginals have slightly higher special ridges separated 

 by broader fasciolar furrows than in sarsi and cisthenosoTna^ and the 

 ridges are slightly thinner in proportion to the extreme width of 

 the plate. In orientalis the furrow in width equals 1.5 times the 

 thickness of the ridge, while in asthenosoma the two are very 

 nearly equal. The inferomarginal plates bear on the outei- half 

 2 stout, long, sharp, subterete spines, the upper usually tlie 

 longer and equaling 3 plates in length. A third, considei-ably 

 shorter spine is usually present, spaced from the lower lateral spine, 

 and at the base of ray is a fourth still smaller, accompanied by 

 several slender, accessory spinules. One of these may occasionally 

 form a fifth spine. On the outer part of ray there are usually 3 sub- 

 terete, sharp, eqilidistant spines, graduated in length toward the 

 outer, or 2 lateral and 2 considerably smaller (perhaps only half 

 the length of the outer) on the inner half of plate. The spaced 

 superficial s])inelets are long and slender, longer than in saml or 

 asth't noiioma, and reaching nearly across the intervening furrows. 



Actinal intermediate plates broader than long, with a rounded 

 inner end overlapjnng broadly the adambulacral plates. The plates 

 bear 1 to 3 spinules on a boss near the inner end, and spaced from 

 these a pedicellaria with 2 broadly spatulate jaws. (See fig. 3, 

 pi. 4f,.) 



The adambulacral armature is of the type of sarsi and a-stJieno- 

 soTToa., consisting of a transverse series of 3 long spines, the outer 

 2 terete, tapering, and subequal, or the median slightly longer, and 

 two-thirds the length of the longest lateral spine. Just adorad to 

 the 2 outer spines are usually 2 unequal spinules. In mth^nosoma 

 the spines are ])ractically the same l)ut a little shorter. 



