NO. 1944. NEW GENERA AND SPECIES OF STARFISHES— FISHER. 605 



b^. Siiperomarginal spines on all except outer third of ray; subambulacral spines 



more than 5, one in the first series enlarged; mouth spines irregularly an-anged. 



(;' . No superomarginal or inferomarginal pedicellarige; abactinal and adambulacral 



pedicellarise very few; paxillfe medium-sized; superomarginals of proximal 



half of ray not longer than wide; lateral spines 3, sometimes 4 teneUvs. 



c^. Numerous abactinal, superomarginal, inferomarginal, and adambulacral pedi- 

 cellariic; superomarginals (except the first 8 or 9 plates) longer than wide; 

 lateral spines 4, on distal third of ray, 3 pedicellaris. 



ASTROPECTEN EREMICUS, new species. 



Disk small, rays flexible, and fairly long and slender; relation of 

 R to r variable; in type R = 51 mm., r = 9 mm., R = 5.66 r; 

 breadth of ray at base, 11 mm. Paxillse small, not crowded, and 

 with 5 to 8 delicate, blunt, membrane-invested spinelets borne on 

 relatively high slender pedicels, the whole about 1 mm. high. 

 Scattered over paxillar area, numerous pedicellarise borne on special 

 plates and with usually 4 spiniform jaws nearly as thick as the 

 pedicel of a paxilla. Superomarginals (36 to 38) dorsal in position, 

 the upper ends of inferomarginals forming margin of ray, and with- 

 out special spines but covered with delicate spinelets invested in 

 ]>ulpy membrane. Inferomarginals about as wide as length of two; 

 lateral spines 2, the upper the longer,' and equaling about 2§ plates 

 in length, and in addition, on the proximal half of ray, a shorter 

 actinal spine near the adambulacral plates; adambulacral plates 

 with 4 or 5 slender furrow spines, and 5 or 6 similar subam- 

 bulacral spines in 2 longitudinal series; sometimes a subambulacral 

 pedicellaria with 4 to 6 spiniform jaws is present. Mouth plates 

 narrow with 4 enlarged teeth at inner angle of combined plates, and 

 3 or 4 spines of about the same size at the outer angle of each plate; 

 between the 2 groups numerous smaller spinelets, decreasing in 

 size from the median suture toward margin. Actinal intermediate 

 pedicellarise with 5 or 6 spiniform jaws. 



Ti/pe.—C&t. No. 30511, U.S.N.M. 



Type-locality. — Station 5491, Surigao Sea, between Leyte and 

 Mindanao, 736 fathoms, green mud and coral; bottom temperature, 

 52.3° F. 



The absence of superomarginal spines and the presence of abac- 

 tinal, actinal intermediate, and subambulacral pedicellarias will suf- 

 fice to distinguish eremicus from A. griegi Koehler. A. eremicus 

 resembles A. imsillulus of the Hawaiian Islands, but the latter has 

 3 furrow spines, the much flattened median spine being stouter and 

 wider than in eremicus; shorter paxillar pedicels and shorter spine- 

 lets; no actinal inferomarginal spinule in addition to the 2 lateral 

 spines (except sometimes on the first 2 or 3 plates) ; shorter rays and 

 relatively larger disk; no abactinal pedicellarise. 



