STARFISHES OF THE PHILIPPINE SEAS. 289 



and touching its fellow of the opposite side by the distal inner corner. 

 Sixth plate narrower distally than proximally and smaller than the 

 fifth. It meets its fellow of the other side. Seventh plate small 

 and tumid. The plates form a well-rounded margin to the disk, but 

 rather more of the plate faces dorsally than laterally. The plates 

 are surrounded by a series of regular granules resembling those of 

 the abactinal plates and the lateral face of the plate has 2 to 5 

 additional rows of rather deciduous granules. On the inner mar- 

 gin of the first 4 plates there is an additional irregular series of 

 granules, which sometimes continues part way along the transverse 

 margins. The dorsal surface of the first 3 and practically all the 

 surface of the last 3 plates is bare, except for a few scattered gran- 

 ules and 1 or 2 pedicellariae. Terminal plate somewhat top-shaped, 

 with two truncate tubercular granules on the distal truncate end. 



Inferomarginals arched actinally and encroaching upon actinal 

 area more than do the superomarginals upon the abactinal. They 

 are all longer than wide ; the lateral face is about half as wide as the 

 ventral and merges with it gradually. The plates decrease gradually 

 in size distad and correspond pretty closely to the superomarginals. 

 The ventral service is bare, except for comparatively numerous 

 widely spaced deciduous granules, but the margins of the plate 

 are granulate for the width of 4 to 6 series except the last 2 or 3 

 plates, which have only 1 or 2 marginal series. Some of the plates 

 have a lateral pedicellaria. 



Actinal intermediate plates flat, granulate, in 7 chevrons, the out- 

 line of the plates being irregularly polygonal, and the granulation 

 spaced for half the width, or more, of the granules. The series ad- 

 jacent to the adambulacrals reaches to the middle of the third infero- 

 marginal and bears an occasional 2-jawed spatulate pedicellaria. 

 Each chevron has an odd interradial plate at its apex. 



Adambulacral plates slightly longer than wide, or square, with a 

 nearly straight furrow margin bearing a regular straight-edged comb 

 of proximally 9 or 10, distally 7 or 8, flattened, rather narrow, trun- 

 cate spines. Proximally these are shorter than the width of plate; 

 sometimes the broader side is toward furrow (especially proximally) 

 and sometimes the edge is to furrow (distally). Spaced from these 

 by a conspicuous interval is a straight longitudinal series of 4 or 5 

 compressed, tubercular spiniform granules, much shorter than the 

 furrow spines, one of which distally becomes enlarged into a tubercle 

 as often occurs in the Goniasteridae. This tubercle is less evident in 

 S. ammofhilus. The proximal 5 or 6 plates have 1' and the rest 

 2 or 2.5 additional longitudinal series of small granules (6 to 12) 

 similar to those of the actinal intermediate plates. 



