ASTEROIDEA OF NORTH PACIFIC AND ADJACENT WATERS — FISHER 101 



Specimens of Siylaslerias forreri examined — Continued 



Remarks. — This species is easily identified by the abundant large crossed pedi- 

 cellariae of peculiar form, by the long slender rays, well spaced, slender spines, and 

 entire absence of actinal plates. It is common on rocky bottom in Monterey Bay 

 but is not for that reason easy to procure. It can seldom be captured except with 

 heavy hempen tangles. 



Orthasterias forreri forcipulata Verrill and O. leptolena Verrill represent, in my 

 opinion, respectively a very large specimen and young examples of true forreri. I 

 have examined the type of leptolena, which, like that of forcipulata, was taken in 

 Departure Bay, British Columbia. Professor Verrill compares 0. forreri forcipulata 

 with Urasterias linckii and O. leptolena with Orthasterias Tcoehleri. The typo of for- 

 cipulata had been dried without being hardened so that the rays have a queer, ab- 

 normal appearance. The pedicellariae are absolutely typical of forreri, and the 

 specimen is comparable to the large examples which I have from southern Alaska. 

 It is not evident what characters Professor Verrill intended to employ in discriminating 

 the three forms. Certain features arc alluded to in his key on page 65 but these are 

 not valid distinctions. 



Under the literature referring to forreri is usually cited the paper by Jennings 

 on "Behavior of the Starfish Asterias forreri de Loriol." 33 The species used by 

 Professor Jennings is Astrometis sertulifera (Xantus). Stylasterias forreri is a deep- 

 water species in southern California and only one specimen has ever been taken 

 near La Jolla where Jennings's work was done. This large example (of which a ray 

 is shown, pi. 49, fig. 1) moreover probably came from deep water at a considerable 

 distance from La Jolla. Dr. H. L. Clark's records of forreri 34 from Lower California 

 also refer to Astrometis sertulifera. 



The fundamental differences between the two species are, of course, thoso which 

 separate the two genera, Astrometis and Stylasterias. As recognition characters may 



» Univ. of Cal. Pub. Zool., vol. 4, No. 2, 1907. 



>' Echinodorms from Lower California, etc., Bull. Amer. Mils. Nat. Hist., vol. 32, art. 8, 1913. p. 203; Supplementary Report. 



vol. 48, art. 6, p. 153. 



