STARFISHES OF THE PHILIPPINE SEAS. 315 



of A. lionotus. Most of the plates adjacent to adambulacrals and 

 upward of a dozen others in each area bear a large sugar-tongs pedi- 

 cellaria, guarded by a special granule on either side. The 2 jaws are 

 spatulate or narrow fan-shaped, with a denticulate rounded distal 

 margin, or the expanded distal part may narrow abruptly to widen 

 slightly at the base. The depressions into which the jaws fit when 

 open are very shallow and inconspicuous. 



Adambulacral plates wider than long and in the middle region of 

 ray shorter than in lionotus (about 3 of lionotus equaling 3^ or 3f 

 of sphaeriostictus. At the same time the inferomarginals of the 

 latter are a little the shorter, so that in 10 inferomarginals there are 

 about 30 adambulacrals in both species. Furrow margin slightly 

 convex; furrow spines 4 or 5, slenderer proximally than in lionotus. 

 On the first few plates they are slender, tapering and not at all or 

 only a trifle compressed and slightly swollen at tip. Throughout 

 most of the ray they are slightly to markedly compressed to a uni- 

 form thinness, but either taper toward the point or flare slightly in 

 the other dimension. The tip may be bluntly pointed or broad-trun- 

 cate or rounded. Subambulacral spines 1 or 2, occassionally 3, heavy 

 and clavate as in lionotus^ but proximally larger and (as in lionotus) 

 frequently marked by shallow longitudinal sulcuses at the broadened 

 end, which sometimes appears to be notched. Instead of forming a 

 longitudinal series the spines usually, wiieii there is more than one, 

 stand in an oblique transverse series, the outer spine the shorter. 

 The majority of plates have but 1 spine. Proximally the enlarged 

 spine is as long as, or a trifle longer than, the furrow spines, but dis- 

 tally is increasingly longer. A majority of the plates even on the 

 outer part of ray (except perhaps the last 12 or 15) have a promi- 

 nent pedicellaria just adorally to the subambulacral spine and behind 

 the furrow series. The jaws are rather slender, slightly spatulate, 

 and hollow interiorly, and the outer one when open folds into a 

 shallow transverse depression reaching nearly to the outer margin of 

 plate; the other jaw stands upright behind the furrow spines and is 

 nearly or quite as long as they are. A similar but trifla smaller 

 pedicellaria is found on a few of the proximal plates of A. lionotus. 

 Outer part of plate with 7 or 8 unequal subcorneal granules. 



Mouth plates only a trifle convex, forming a salient angle which 

 nearly closes the actinostome. Marginal spines 8, the outer slender 

 and tapering, the inner 3 or 4 becoming gradually thicker and more 

 compressed. Two inner subambulacral spines slender and tapering; 

 then in the same series parallel to furrow is a prominent two-jawed 

 pedicellaria (similar to the subambulacral), followed by 1 or 2 

 thicker spines, near the outer furrow corner of the plate. Six or 

 7 spaced, unequal, tubercular granules follow the sutural margins of 

 the plate. 



