STARFISHES OF THE PHILIPPINE SEAS. 373 



Fromia cancellata Grube (Fiji Islands, according to Sladen) has 

 a very characteristic appearance. The rays are broader than in 

 glyptodisca and each has 6 regular spaced transverse series of cen- 

 trally bare plates. The superomarginal plates are alternately large 

 and small, the latter being wholly granulated, the former only about 

 the periphery. The larger plates correspond to the interval between 

 the transverse series of tumid plates. 



Fromia huhlii Miiller and Troschel (Java) is insufficiently de- 

 scribed. The abactinal plates are small, and irregular as to form and 

 arrangement. Among them are larger, more convex isolated plates 

 naked centrally. The marginal plates are large, and presumably 

 covered with granules. The relation of R to r is as 5 to 1, hence the 

 ra}' is longer than in glyptodisca. 



Genus FROMIA Gray. 



Fromia Gray, 1S40, p. 286. Type, F. miUeporcUa (Lamarck). 



KEY TO THE SPECIES OF FROMIA HEREIN DESCRIBED. 



a\ Superomarginal plates of distal half of ray large and small alternating; 

 granules surrounding papular pores, larger than the others. 



japonica, p. 373. 

 a". Superomarginal plates not large and small, alternating. 



b \ Abactinal plates of proximal half or two-thirds of ray in regular longi- 

 tudinal series ; marginal plates very regular, most of them longer 

 than wide ; rays slender ; furrow spines 2 or 3, subambulacral spines 2 ; 



actinal pedicellariae eusticha, p. 375. 



b -. Abactinal plates not in regular series. 

 c\ Most of the marginal plates with 1 or more central enlarged tubercular 

 granules ; rays slender, about 3 times as long as width at base. 



hemiopla, p. 377. 



c*. Marginal plates without central tubercles; rays usually about 2 to 2i 



times as long as width at base milleporella, p. 378. 



FROMIA JAPONICA Perrier. 



Plate 105. fig. 4 ; plate 106, fig. 2 ; plate 107, figs. 1, 7. 

 Fromia japonica Perriek, 1881, p. 14; 1884, p. 227, pi. 4, fig. 2 (Japan). — 



De Loriol, 1891, p. 31 (New Caledonia). 

 Fromia major Koehler, 1895, p. 339, pi. 9, figs. 3 and 4 ; 1910o, p. 140 ; 1910&, 



p. 283, pi. 15, fig. 7, pi. 16, figs. 6 and 7. 



Notes on Philippine specimens. — Through the kindness of Dr. 

 H. L. Clark I have been able to examine the type of Perrier's Fromia 

 japonica^ No. 743, Museum of Comparative Zoology, and have com- 

 pared it directly with the specimen from station 5159. The type of 

 Koehler's Fromia major is considerably larger. The major radius 

 measures 55 mm., while that of the type of japonica is 32 mm. I do 

 not think the two forms are specifically distinct. The slight differ- 

 ences which may seem apparent from a comparison of the figures 

 and descriptions are more than covered by the variations shown by 

 13434— Bull. 100—19 25 



