460 BULLETIN 100, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



adult, but the small outer spinelets are placed on 2 slightly different 

 leA'els as described in the t5'^pe. Most of the adambulacral plates 

 have 5 spines joined by a transparent web. This specimen can be 

 readily separated from P. ohesus on the character of the reticulated, 

 fairly thick, supradorsal membrane. 



Type.— Cvit. No. 37015, U.S.N.M. 



Type-locality, — Station 5518, Mindanao Sea, off Point Tagolo, 200 

 fathoms, gray mud, globigerina; bottom temperature 54° F. ; 1 

 specimen. 



Distribution. — Mindanao and Surigao Seas, and vicinity Philip- 

 pine Islands, 74 to 279 fathoms, mud. 



Specimens examined. — In addition to the type, 7 from the follow- 

 ing stations : 



Station 5483, Surigao Strait, east of Leyte, 74 fathoms, sand, 

 broken shells; 1 specimen. 



Station 5523, 6.7 miles northeast Point Tagolo Light, Mindanao 

 Sea; 1 specimen. 



Station 5536, between NegTos and Siquijor, 279 fathoms, green 

 mud, bottom temperature 53.3° F. 



Remarks. — I have given this form the status of a subspecies be- 

 cause it is obviously very close to ohesus and is separated from it by 

 what may be termed minor characters. In other words it seems to 

 be a " small species." Pteraster ohesus is known only from a single 

 specimen from Sagami Bay, Japan. In my key to the species of 

 Pteraster (Asteroidea of the North Pacific, pt. 1, p. 368) the present 

 race would be placed next to ohesus under e^ with the following dif- 

 ferential characters : 



/. No supradorsal reticulations ; paxillar spines 8 to 10 or more ; R=1.4 r. 



ohesus. 



/^ Well developed supradorsal reticulations; paxillar spines usually 7 (or less 



than 10) ; R=1.2 r myonotus. 



The disposition of the outer, small, oral spinelets of myonotus., 

 which appears to be constant, may be a further difference. 



The "key," referred to above, will show by the position assigned 

 to myonotus^ the principal characters by which the new form differs 

 from others species of Pteraster. 



Genus RETASTER Perrier. 



Retaster Pebrieb, Nouv. Archiv., 1878, p. 56. Type, Pteraster capensis Gray. 



RETASTER INSIGNIS Sladen. 



Retaster insignis Sladen, 1882, p. 200; 1SS9, p. 482, pi. 76, figs. 3 and 4; 

 pi. 77, figs. 11 and 12. 



In the largest specimen from station 5253 R=74 mm. and r 

 about 36 or 37 mm. The specimen agi'ees fairly well with Sladen's 

 description of R. insignis. There are 3 or 4 spinelets to each 



