7s BULLETIN 76, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Asterias iafherinae was very briefly described by Gray from specimens stated to 

 have been collected at the mouth of the Columbia River. The original specimens 

 arc eight in number and were presented to the British Museum in 1838 by Lady 

 Catherine Douglas. They were entered in a preliminary register as coming from 

 Labrador. Doctor Cray, however, gives "North America, mouth of the Columbia 

 River" as the Locality and, since another specimen lias been taken in the Gulf of 

 Georgia, there can be little doubt that the entry made in 1838 was incorrect and 

 that Doctor Gray was right. 



Through the courtesy of Sir S. F. Harmer, formerly director of the British 

 Museum I Natural History), and of Dr. R. Kirkpatrick, then in charge of the collec- 

 tions of Echinoderms, 1 received for detailed study four of Gray's types. Doctor 

 Kirkpatrick had photographs made of the others, and forwarded me notes on the 

 specimens. Subsequently I visited the British Museum and examined all of the 

 types. At his request, one of the specimens having the original register number 

 attached, namely, 38.7.15.107, has been formally designated as type of the species. 



It is necessary to correct an erroneous impression, due to a statement by Perrier, 

 that the actual types of Gray are not known with certainty. Perrier (1875, p. 67) 

 says: "II est asse/. difficile de savoir avec precision ce que Gray a voulu designer 

 sous le nom d'Asterias Katherinae." 



There is no shadow of doubt concerning the eight original specimens. They are 

 all identifiable with certainty. Five have the original register numbers glued to 

 them. Of the other three, two without either register numbers or Gray's original 

 small letter, had labels, "As. katherinae" in Gray's writing. The remaining one 

 alone without number, letter, or original name label of Gray was labeled (sub- 

 sequently, possibly by Professor Bell) A. katherinae, mouth of Columbia River 

 (No. 38.7.15.111). So it too must be one of the original eight. 



In a manuscript list Gray entered the eight specimens as follows; the asterisk 

 denotes specimens which were sent to me. 



a. Five-rayed 38.7.15.108 (a true katherinae). 



b. * Six-rayed 38.7.15.110 (smallest specimen; type of A. douglasi Perrier). 



c. Six-rayed 38.7.15.101. 

 ./. Six-rayed 38.7.15.105. 



e. Six-rayed 38.7.15.106 ("As. katherinae Gray"). 



/. * Six-rayed 38.7.15.107 (type). 



g. * Six-rayed "variety" (38.7.15.109) ( u As. katherinae Gray"). 



h. * Six-rayed "variety" (38.7.15.111) ("cotype" of following description). 



The numbers of e, g, h, were lost and were replaced in 1920 by Doctor Kirk- 

 patrick; h was without any label but by a process of elimination is almost certainly 

 one of the "variety" specimens. I have examined all of the specimens; the last is 

 certainly a true katherinae and is referred to as a "cotype" in the following descrip- 

 tion. 



Although No. 108 is a 5-rayed specimen and was labelled "Asterias troscheli" 

 by Bell or Perrier, it is a true katherinae. 



All the specimens were dried without having been cleaned, so that the spines to 



son \tent are obscured by dried slime, sand, and sawdust, while the tube-feet are 



more or less plastered over the oral and adanibulacral armature. It was a simple 



