STAEFISHES OF THE PHILIPPINE SEAS. 537 



Genus FREYELLASTER Fisher. 



Freyella Fisher, not Perrier, lOlTf, pp. 424, 428. 



Freijellaster Fisher, 1918, p. 103. Type, Freyella feciinda Fisher. 



Diagnosis. — Brisingidae with numerous gonads arranged serially 

 along either side of the more or less inflated genital region of ray, 

 each opening bj?" its own pore; plates of genital region forming a 

 continuous covering or armor, more or less spiniferous, and not segre- 

 gated as independent skeletal arches, separated by intervals without 

 plates; no papulae; in interbrachial angle the first pair of adambu- 

 lacral plates (of adjacent rays) closely joined throughout their 

 length, and directly above them is a pair of closely joined first mar- 

 ginal plates; primary apical pilates not conspicuous; a nonmuscular 

 symphysis or syzygy between the first and second adambulacral 

 plates, and between the upper part of the second and third am- 

 bulacral plates. 



Remarks. — This group includes those species of the old genus 

 Freyella in which the gonads are numerous and arranged in series 

 along either side of the ray, as in typical Brisinga. In this restricted 

 genus Freyellasfer, as in the restricted Brlsirtga^ the first adambulacral 

 plate is closely united to its fellow of the adjacent ray, at the apex 

 of the interbrachial angle; and immediately above them, and joined 

 to their upper sides is a closely apposed pair of marginal plates, the 

 first of a series which extends a variable distance along the base of 

 the ray, just above the adambulacral plates. The adoral end of these 

 marginal plates abuts against the base of the interradial plate. In 

 some species part of the second adambulacral plate, as well as the 

 first, is joined to its vis-a-vis. 



In a preliminary revision of the Brisingidae (Fisher 1917 /) I 

 divided the old genus Freyella into two groups, Freyella and Frey- 

 ellidea. The name Freyella was restricted to those species having 

 supposedly the characters enumerated in the preceding paragraph, 

 and Freyella spinosa Perrier was kept as the genotype. The name 

 Freyellidea was bestowed upon the group called Freyella in the fore- 

 going synopsis of genera. Unfortunately the most important char- 

 acters of Freyella spinosa are not shown in Perrier's figures nor 

 mentioned in the description, since such details have generally been 

 omitted as of no particular importance. 



Through the courtesy of Dr. H. L. Clark, of the Museum of Com- 

 parative Zoology, I subsequently examined an authentic example of 

 Freyella spinosa received from the Museum d'Histoire Naturelle. It 

 belongs to the group which I called Freyellidea. This specimen, No. 

 1447, has two gonads to each ray, each gonad consisting of a good- 

 sized clump of tubules with a single aperture to the exterior. There 



