STARFISHES OF THE PHILIPPINE SEAS. 465 



spines at either end of the series are the longest. Two stout, tapering, 

 sharp, suboral spines, much longer and stouter than the marginal, 

 stand close to the median suture, the inner fairly on the actinostomial 

 margin; the outer is slightly the longer and about as long as the 

 straight median suture of the mouth plates, or sometimes only three- 

 fourths as long. 



Actinolateral membrane fleshy, thick, obscuring the very delicate 

 actinolateral spines, which increase in length and nearly meet in the 

 interradial line, up to the eleventh or twelfth spines, which are the 

 longest. From here on the tips of the spines of adjacent rays become 

 mxDre and more separated, although the next 10 are nearly subequal in 

 length. Near the end of the ray the spines project slightly at the 

 edge of the actinolateral membrane. 



Color in alcohol, bright pink, lighter on paxillar areas. 



Type.— C?it. Xo. 37017, U.S.N.M. 



Type-locality.— ^t^iiion 5606, Gulf of Tomini, Celebes (lat. 0° 16' 

 28" N.; long. 121° 33' 30'' E.), 834 fathoms, green mud; 2 specimens. 



Distribution. — Known only from the type-locality. 



Remarks. — The principal characters upon which this species is 

 founded have been indicated in the diagnosis. Although rhodopeplus 

 bears a very striking resemblance to nohilis., the differences are very 

 important, especially in the number of rows of paxillae. H. koehleri., 

 from Bering Sea, is a close relative of nohilis, but, like the latter, 

 differs from rhodopeplus in having only 6 series of paxillae, which 

 are nearer equal in size than in rhodopeplus. 



This species has a thick, fleshy, actinolateral membrane and very 

 weak spines, while in H. hartschi the membrane is relatively thin 

 and the spines much stouter. 



HYMENASTER BARTSCHI Fisher. 



Plate 124, fig. 2 ; plate 133, fig. 7. 

 Hymenaster hartschi Fisheb, 1916&, p. 29. 



Diagnosis. — Very similar to H. pullatus, but differing in having 

 the paxillar areas of the 5 rays separated interradially nearly to the 

 oscular valves and in having numerous spiracula in the supradorsal 

 membrane, there being a series of bandlike spiracular areas along 

 either side of the paxillar areas extending toward the interradial 

 line. General contour originally probably nearly pentagonal, pro- 

 duced at the corners into attenuate tips. R= about 70 mm. It 

 is not possible to measure r accurately, as the lateral membrane is 

 distorted and in some cases torn. Breadth of paxillar area, 22 to 

 26 mm. 



DescHption. — The five paxillar areas petaloid, broadly lanceolate, 

 distinct, separated one from another to within a short distance of 



