364 BULLETIN 100, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



interpapular granules. Several very small 2-jawed slender spatulate 

 pedicellariae as long as to twice as long as the granules, are present 

 in each papular area. In alcoholic specimens they are very incon- 

 spicuous. 



The abactinal body-wall is about 5 mm. thick on the edge of the 

 apical area, radially ; in C. novae- guineae it is about twice that. The 

 primary abactinal plates are about half as large and twice as nu- 

 merous as those of C. novae-guineae. In the latter there are 6 or 7 

 primary plates in the radial series between middle of disk and end 

 of ray ; in Halityle there are 13 in a comparable specimen. As seen 

 from the coelomic side the primary plates are slightly wider than 

 long, with 6 lobes, the longitudinally directed ones being well-de- 

 veloped (poorly developed or absent in specimen of novae-guineae 

 examined). They are slightly slenderer than the lateral lobes. The 

 connecting ossicles are slender and strongly overlap the lobes of the 

 primary plates, being dorsal to them. As viewed from above in a 

 cleared specimen these connecting pieces form a very regular tri- 

 angular network. Within the apical area certain plates have T or 

 8 radiating trabeculae. Embedded in the integument of the papular 

 areas are numerous calcareous granules, many of which have a cen- 

 tral pit for a pedicellaria. 



Marginal plates plainly visible, the inferomarginals the larger, 

 both sets defining ambitus and perpendicular in orientation. Supero- 

 marginals. slightly to not at all convex, roughly triangular, the base 

 against the upper end of the corresponding inferomarginal, and the 

 height greater than the length. Between the tapering sides of the 

 superomarginals are the large papular areas above mentioned. 

 There are about 22 plates to a side. The end of the ray or rather 

 corner of the disk is turned upward, as usual in Culcita^ and the last 

 4 or 5 plates are all differently formed ; the fifth from end is rather 

 oblong and oriented obliquely ; the fourth is unequally triangular ; the 

 third elliptical, oriented long way to furrow and abruptly smaller; 

 the second irregularly oblong ; while the first plate usually forms a 

 yoke over the abactinal surface just behind the small terminal plate; 

 sometimes this half ring is split into 2 plates. The normal condition, 

 which is certainly exceptional among starfishes, is the yoke form, the 

 plate being common to 2 superomarginal series. 



Inferomarginals are more nearly rectangular, but the lower end is 

 rounded. They correspond to the superomarginals as far as about the 

 sixth plate from interradial line, beyond which they are more numer- 

 ous, there being 40 to the side. Those corresponding to last 4 supero- 

 marginals (11 or 12 in number) are transversely oblong and fairly 

 regular, decreasing rapidly in size to the end of ray. Actinal inter- 



