STARFISHES OF THE PHILIPPINE SEAS. 137 



ment thin, slightly inflated; p:\xillae small, largest on borders of 

 paxillar area to which papulae are confined; marginal plates massive; 

 superomarginals forming a tumid border to paxillar area, each with a 

 small, conical, upright spine; inferomarginals with very tumid outer 

 ends bearing, proximally, 2 curved parallel combs of setalike spines 

 (one covering the other) and, distallj', 1 such comb; adambulacral 

 plates with 3 long furrow^ and 12 to 15 delicate subambulacral spines, 

 the latter often forming fasciculate pedicellariae. Differing from T . 

 craspedotus in the much larger, tumid superomarginals, smaller 

 paxillae, double proximal combs of lateral spines, fewer adambulacral 

 spines and fevrer enlarged teeth. 



Descriftion. — Paxillae small, not compact, smallest over a wide 

 radial area and center of disk, w'here there are no papulae, and dis- 

 tinctly larger on the papular area which comprises only the border of 

 the paxillar area. Paxillae are rather low parapaxillae, the summit 

 of the tabulum being convex and narrower than the base. The larger 

 paxillae have 1 to 4 central, delicate, minutely thorny spinelets and 

 to 9 peripheral, while the small ones have 1 to 3 central and 5 to 8 

 peripheral. The small paxillae differ, however, in having a much 

 lower tabulum and shorter spinelets than those of the papular areas. 

 Some of the very small paxillae have only 2 or 3 minute spinelets. 

 The paxillae of papular areas are arranged in oblique transverse 

 rows, but this arrangement ends abruptly at the edge of the papular 

 areas; the other plates are irregular. The paxillae are smaller than 

 those of T. craspedotus. 



Superomarginal plates, 24 to a ray, are, unlike those of craspedotus 

 robust to the end of the ray and are so shaped that they form a 

 raised angular or tumid border to the paxillar area. The plates 

 are wider than long, and each has a lateral and a dorsal face, the 

 latter being about square and the former longer than high beyond the 

 basal fourth of ray. Each plate bears qj;i the angle between the 2 

 faces an upright conical sharp spine about half as long as the 

 plate. This spine stands on the center of the plate at base of ray 

 and gradually moves near the distal margin as the extremity is ap- 

 proached. The general surface of plate is covered with well-spaced, 

 tiny upright spinelets, very fine about the borders of the plate and 

 gradually becoming thimble- shaped at the center. On the lateral 

 face of many plates are 1 or 2 small fasciculate pedicellariae with 

 about 6 tiny spinelets for jaws. The fascioles between the plates 

 are very rudimentary. 



Inferomarginal plates wider than long, and a little wider in pro- 

 portion to length than in T. craspedotus. They have a very convex 

 outer end which defines the ambitus and bears a perpendicular, 

 curved comb of delicate curved setalike spines. On the second to 

 fifth plates this comb covers a second parallel comb of smaller spines, 



