STARFISHES OF THE PHILIPPINE SEAS. 395 



of plates being deeper than the transverse sutures. Papular areas 

 much smaller than the plates, containing 3 to 5 pores; no papulae on 

 actinal surface. Plates overlaid by a close covering of nearly uni- 

 form small granules, about 20 in the diameter of a proximal carinal 

 plate. They are very slightly smaller in the sulcuses between the 

 plates. A very few alveolar pedicellariae with slender curved jaws 

 are present on abactinal surface. They resemble the pedicellariae of 

 O. sclerodermus (Fisher, 1906, pi. 31, fig. 2). 



One series of actinal intermediate plates extends nearly to tip of 

 ray, a second series about half length of ray, and a third series to 

 about the fourth inferomarginal. These plates are covered with 

 a close uniform rather fine granulation similar to that of the abacti- 

 nal and marginal plates. 



Adambulacral plates with an apparently double furrow series but 

 no subambulacral spine or granule until near the tip of ray. Proxi- 

 mally the plates have 3 short, broad, subtruncate spinelets set slightly 

 obliqueh', so that 2 appear to be on the edge of furrow, and the third 

 (which is the adoral) back slightly, partly behind the middle spine 

 of its own plate and the aboral spine of the adjacent adoral plate. 

 This spinelet is a little heavier than the other 2, which are marked 

 by a shallow sulcus running the whole lengih. On the outer third 

 of ray a fourth granule, subspherical, and similar to the adoral 

 granule just spoken of, stands obliquely adorad of the latter and rep- 

 resents apparently the true suboral spine. It forms with the median 

 and adoral furrow spine (the latter being oif the furrow margin) 

 an oblique transverse series, usually without intervening granules. 

 Throughout most of the ray, therefore, there is only the double fur- 

 row series, the true subambulacral granule appearing in a rudimen- 

 tary form at the end of ray. 



Madreporic body subtriangular, slightly nearer the margin than 

 center and marked by fine, irregular, radiating striae. 



Color in alcohol, light brown mottled with darker, the sulcuses fre- 

 quently marked with darker brown. 



Type-locality. — Andaman Islands. 



Distribution. — Andaman Islands and Surigao Strait, to 67 fathoms. 



Specimen examined. — Station 5482, Surigao Strait, east of Leyte 

 (4.5 miles southeast of Cabugan Grande Island), 67 fathoms, broken 

 shells, sand, green mud. 



Remarks. — Despite slight points of difference, such as the posses- 

 sion of a very few pedicellariae, I think the Philippine specimen is 

 referable to Koehler's species, the type of which is smaller (E=28 

 mm.). This would partly account for the absence of pedicellariae. 



I have placed the species in Ophidiaster because the plates are very 

 regularly arranged in longitudinal series, a few pedicellariae are 



