ASTEROIDEA OF NORTH PACIFIC AND ADJACENT WATERS — FISHER. 255 



granuliform ossicles on the intervening papular areas; toward margin of disk and 

 rays papular areas and the secondary ossicles disajjpear, liie primary plates becoming 

 elliptical, then roundish; primary plates arranged in fairly regular series parallel 

 with the median radial, and closely heset with numerous (upwards to forty) small 

 truncate or round-tip])ed granules which wiien covered with the natural epiilermis 

 are about as high as broad; the secondary ossicles scattered on the papular areius 

 (upward to twenty-five on large areas of rays) bear a paxilliform group of smaller 

 granules (five to twelve) ; in life and alcoholic specimens the primary plates and 

 intervening ossicles with their granules are closely packed together, leaving room 

 only for the papulaj (upwanl to twenty to an area on rays) which diniinLsh in num- 

 ber toward margin, disappearing entirelj' before the margmal plates are reached. 

 Marginal plates about equal, the inferomarginals defming ambitus; superomar- 

 ginals sUghtly larger than adjacent abactinals. Actinal intermediate plates in 

 very regular chevrons bearing each a webbed comb of three to five jnore or less 

 flattened, sometimes chisel-tipped spinelcts, somewhat longer than the btuse line of the 

 series; usually a large comb just back of mouth plates. Adambulacral plates ^\•itll 

 three partly webbed tapering, membrane-invested furrow spinelets, two longer 

 than near-by actinal spinelets and the adoral member of series usually markedly 

 shorter than rest; on actinal surface (wliich is raised above furrow margin) is an 

 oblique (sometimes almost transverse) scries of three (two to four) stouter chisel- 

 tipped spinelets (webbed at base). Mouth plates large (free margin equal to three 

 succeeding adambulacrals), bearing five marginal pa.tly webbed spinelets graduated 

 to an inner actinal spine, about as large as the tooth. Madreporic body fairly 

 large, with irregular, branching centrifiigal striae. 



Color in life. — Color extremely variable; some shade of red, clear or mottled 

 with other tints, is common for the abactinal surface. Some of the variations 

 found in specimens from Monterey Bay are listed. 



1. Red predominating. 



a. Clear vermilion above; below, cadmium yellow or orange near ambitus, 

 shading into light straw yellow; tube feet raw siemia. 



b. Carmine above and below. 



C. Very dark dull burnt carmine above, Naples yellow below. 



d. Above, very dark purplish Indian red, the same aclinally. 



e. Above, dark purplish Indian red, mottled with orange or witli light yellow 

 ochre; light Naples yellow below. 



/. Veiy dark red, shading to grayish green on rmlii and center of disk. 



2. Yellow ])redominating. 



a. Dull light yellow ochre above, sparsely spotteil wiih very didl <lark purple; 

 very pale yellow below. 



b. Dull fawn color with a few spots of deep red: tiie same below. Sometimes 

 a single large spot in center of disk. 



c. Light yellow ochre, spotted with orange and dark red. 



(/. Orange above, mottled with slightly darker orange brown; orange encroach- 

 ing on yellow of actinal surface. 



3. Brown and dull greens predominating. 



