A MONOGRAPH OF THE EXISTING CRINOIDis. 213 



Characters. — The specimen collected by M. Rousseau in 1841, which, as the only 

 one seen by Carpenter, must be considered as the type of the species, has the cirri 

 XV, 21-23; there are 19 arms; of the 9 IIBr series present, 7 are 4 (3+4) and 2 are 2. 

 Carpenter noted that the mouth is interradial in position, and the lower pinnules 

 have somewhat carinate basal segments. 



In the specimen from Cape St. Andr^ the cirri are XVIII, 21-22; there are 12 

 arms, 4 of which are on a single ray which bears 2 IIBr 4 (3+4) series; the brachials 

 are very short with strongly projecting distal ends. 



The third specimen resembles the first and possesses 19 arms. 



None of the examples has IIIBr series. 



Localities. — Cape St. Andre, Madagascar; about 30 meters; Dr. P. R. Jolj', 1901 

 [A. H. Clark, 1911] (1, P. M.). 



Madagascar; M. Rousseau, 1841 [P. H. Carpenter, 1882, 1888; A. H. Clark, 

 1911] (1, P. M.). 



Madagascar [A. H. Clark, 1911] (1, P. M.). 



Mauritius; Nicholas Pike [A. H. Clark, 1911]. 



Erroneous locality. — Southeastern coast of Africa [A. H. Clark, 1911]. The 

 mention of this locality was due to the existence in the Paris Museum of a specimen 

 of Comanthus wahlhergii bearing the name coccodistoma. 



History. — The first mention of this form is an inclusion of the name Comatula 

 coccodistoma in 1862 by Dujardin and Hup6 as a nomen nudum in a list of manu- 

 script names found with specimens of recent comatulids in the Paris Museum. 



In 1882 Dr. P. H. Carpenter included Actinometra coccodistoma among the 

 comatidids for which he gave specific formulas, and in 1888 he somewhat doubtfully 

 referred to Actinometra jimbriata, a specimen he had found under the name of Comatula 

 coccodistoma in the Paris Museum which had been brought from Madagascar by 

 M. Rousseau in 1841, and noted certain features exhibited by it. 



Prof. Hubert Ludwig in 1899 gave Jimbriata as questionably occurring in Mada- 

 gascar on the basis of Carpenter's disposition of the specimen labeled coccodistoma 

 in 1888. 



In 1910 I visited the Paris Museum and examined there 3 specimens from 

 Madagascar, including the one mentioned by Carpenter. 



In an article on the crinoids of Africa published in March, 1911,1 recorded these 

 as Capillaster multiradiata, remarking that I had compared them directly with a 

 typical specimen of multiradiata from the Straits of Sunda (referring to one of the 

 specimens collected by Rej'naud in Ceylon in 1829 in the Paris Museum) and that, 

 while they are smaller and proportionately weaker, I could find no other diflerences 

 whatever; I mentioned that IIIBr series, which are very common in East Indian 

 specimens, do not occur. I added that very possibly these specimens represent a 

 local permanently small race confined to the southeast African region, and that if 

 this shoidd prove to be the case the name coccodistoma would be applicable to it. 



Later in 1911 in a paper on the recent crinoids in the Paris Museum I again 

 gave brief descriptions of these specimens, this time under the heading Capillaster 

 multiradiata var. coccodi.^toma. In this paper the reference to the name coccodistoma 

 "is given, in a footnote, as "Proc. U. S. National Museum, vol. 39, p. 680." This was 



