STAEFISHES OF THE PHILIPPINE SEAS. 237 



abactinal plates broadly stellate, or in small specimens stellato- 

 pentagonal. All abactinal plates tabulate and paxilliform, with 

 compact siibhexagonal crowns arranged in regular series parallel 

 to the median radial, and decreasing gradually in size along oblique 

 series extending from the radii to the margin. Distally the radial 

 plates become conspicuously broader, rectangular, the width de- 

 creasing much more rapidly than the length, so that the plates, 

 which are broader than long, or square, at the beginning of the 

 attenuate portion of ray, become distally ordinarily considerably 

 longer than wide. The series of plates parallel to the median radial 

 are successively shorter, proceeding from the carina! series outward, 

 so that beyond the eighth to eighteenth superomarginal plates (not 

 counting the odd one) the latter are separated onlj'' by the single 

 series of rectangular plates covered with low convex, roundish, 

 slightly spaced granules, uniform with those of the superomarginals. 

 A carinal plate from near the primary radial has 9 to 12 roundish 

 or slightly polj^'gonal spaced central granules and 20 to 25 flattened, 

 truncate, oblong, or slightly tapered smaller peripheral ones ar- 

 ranged with considerable regularity' and ordinarily longer than 

 broad. On the outer end of the series, just before the adradial 

 plates end, the central granules are 25 to 30 and the peripheral about 

 35 and similar to the central. On the lateral plates the number of 

 central granules decreases from about 8 or 9 on the proximal adra- 

 dial plates to 3 to 6 near the margin, the smaller number being on 

 plates near the interradius. 



Papulae distributed all over the abactinal surface and as far 

 along ray as there are more than 1 series of abactinal plates. The 

 abactinal plates are circular, with 6 regular shallow indentations. 

 and touch by the very short, broad truncate lobes. Near the margin 

 the lobes are a little more pronounced. 



Marginal plates with an odd interradial in both series, similar in 

 form and size to the others, though occasionally a trifle longer than 

 the 2 immediately adjacent. The superomarginals form a bevel and 

 have a very low lateral face. The width increases, or has the appear- 

 ance of increasing slightly up to about the eighth or tenth plates 

 (according to size) and from that point very gradually decreases, 

 all the plates being wider than long. The length of the plates very 

 gradually increases up to the tenth or twelfth, and then as gradu- 

 ally decreases. The width of the odd plate equals its own length plus 

 that of the first 3 superomarginals, measured on ambitus. Supero- 

 marginals 37 to 42 to the ray in large specimens. The plates are 

 covered with roundish, depressed, convex, slightly spaced granules 

 about the size of the central paxillar granules, and unifonn on the 



