6 BULLETIN 76, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Attatteriaa Vbbhili., Ami ir. Journ. 8ci., vol. 29, 1909, p. 65. Type, A. rathbuni Verrill; 



ShallOW-water Starfishes, 1914, pp. S3, 188. 

 Parasterias Vekhill, Shallow-water Starfishes, 1914, pp. 53, 187. Type, P. albertensis 



\. Trill. 



Diagnosis. — Asteriinae having the adambulacral spines provided with clusters 

 of pedicellariae, gonads opening dorsally, superomarginals defining ambitus, infero- 

 maiginals Btrictly actinal in position, and a single series of actinal plates, either 

 spineless and more or less superficially invisible, or with a single spine. Abactinal 

 skeleton an irregular net with meshes of various sizes, the plates being sometimes 

 closely but irregularly imbricated by their lobes; carinal series usually distinguishable, 

 often irregular. Adambulacrals diplacanthid or mixed diplacanthid and triplacan- 

 t hid , or mixed diplacanthid and monacanthid; furrow spine of alternate plates more 

 or less advanced into furrow ; gonads large, eggs small; development indirect, through 

 a free pelagic larva. 



Asterias,' us here restricted, includes besides the well known type, A. rubens, 

 -1 vulgaris Verrill and A. forbesi (Desor) of the Atlantic coast of North America; 

 A. amurensis of the North Pacific and western Arctic; A. amurensis rollestoni (Bell) 

 and A. versicolor Sladen of Japanese waters. 



The genus probably does not occur in the southern hemisphere, being there 

 replaced by Diplasterias (Podasterias) , some species of which closely resemble true 

 Asterias. 



Both Allasterias Verrill and Parasterias Verrih are straight synonyms of Asterias, 

 sensu stricto. 



ASTERIAS AMURENSIS l.ntk.-n 



Plates 1-5; Plate 6, Figures 2-8, 10, 11; Plate 7 



Asterias pectinata Brandt(?), not Linnaeus, Prodromus, 1835, p. 270. Kamchatka. 

 Asterias amurensis Lutken, Videnskab. Meddel. fra d. naturhist. Foren. Kjobenhavn, 1871, 



p. 296.— Fisher, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 9. vol. 12, p. 598. 

 Asterias rubens Murdoch, Rep. Internal. Polar Exped., Point Barrow, 1885, p. 159. 

 Allasterias rathbuni Verrill, Amer. Journ. Sci., vol. 28, 1909, p. 65, fig. 5; Shallow-water 



Starfishes, 1914, p. 189 ("Maloska" = Unalaska). 

 Allasterias rathbuni var. nortonensis Verrill, Amer. Jour. Sci., vol. 28, 1909, p. 66, fig. 7 



(Norton Sound). 

 Allasterias rathbuni var. anomala Verrill, Amer. Jour. Sci., vol. 28, 1909, p. 66, fig. 5 (St. 



Michael, Norton Sound). 

 Allasterias rathbuni nortonensis Verrill, Shallow-water Starfishes, 1914, p. 191, pi. 78, 



fig. 2, text figs. 8, 9. 

 Allasterias anomala Verrill, Shallow-water Starfishes, 1914, p. 193, pi. 59, fig. 2; pi. 60, 



fig. 2; pi. 69, fig. 5; pi. 77, fig. 3; pi. 78, figs. 3, 4. 

 Parasterias albertensis Verrill, Shallow-water Starfishes, 1914, p. 187, pi. 57, figs. 1, 2; pi. 70, 



fig. 6 (Albert Bay, British Columbia). 

 Asterias anomala A. H. Clark, Rep. Canadian Arctic Exped., 1913-1918, vol. 8, 1920, p. 8c. 

 Asterias nortonensis A. H. Clark, Rep. Canadian Arctic Exped., 1920, p. 8c. 



The following is a translation of Doctor Lutken's original description: 7 



• For a full summary of species sec page 205. 



: Made by Dr. Adam B0vlni\ of the IS. National Museum, to whom lam greatly indebted. 



