A MONOGRAPH OF THE EXISTING CRINOID8 601 



Geographical range. — From Ceylon to tropical Australia, south to the Abrolhos 

 Islands, Western Australia, and Torres Strait, the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, 

 Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, the Gilbert, Caroline, and Pelew Islands, and the Philippines; 

 apparently scarce in the Malayan Archipelago. 



Bathymetrical range. — From the low-tide mark down to 40 meters. Nearly all 

 of the known specimens are from very shallow water. 



History. — In the early catalogues of the Godeffroy Museum published in 1869, 

 1874, and 1877 Prof. C. F. Liitken included the name Adinometra trachygaster, giving 

 as localities for this undescribed form Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, and the Pelew Islands. 



In 1876 Dr. R. Greeff, and in 1877 and 1879 Prof. Hubert Ludwig, discussed 

 certain morphological features of Actinometra trachygaster, their information being 

 obtained from specimens secured from the Godeffroy Museum which had been 

 named by Liitken. They did not mention any of the sj'stematic characters pre- 

 sented by their specimens, nor did they mention the localities whence they had come. 

 While there is little doubt that samoana was the form they had, there is a possibility 

 that it might have been parmcirra. The work of Greeff and Ludwig on Actinometra 

 trachygaster was referred to by Carpenter in 1884 and by Perrier in 1886. 



In 1879 Carpenter noted that Liitken had applied this name to a new species, 

 but had not, so far as he knew, described it. 



In 1882 Carpenter published some notes on 2 specimens from Peru in the Ham- 

 burg Museum which he identified as parvicirra. 



He assumed, as have all subsequent authors, that Peru was the west South 

 American country of that name. In 1909 I suggested' that the Peru in question 

 must be Peru (or Francis) Island, situated in about lat. 1° 30' S., long. 176 ° E., in 

 the Gilbert or Kingsmill group. 



In 1888 Carpenter said that in the different collections wliich he had examined 

 he had found a considerable variety of types under the name Actinometra trachygaster. 

 In his discussion of the species of the Valida group, consisting of forms with the 

 IIBr series 2 and the first syzygy between brachials 3+4, he said that some of the 

 individuals which had been distributed by the Godeffroy Museum under this name 

 have one or more division series of 4 (3 + 4) beyond the IIBr 2 series, while others 

 have the IIBr series 4 (3+4). 



He did not mention Actinometra trachygaster further, and although some of the 

 specimens from which he took the localities given under Actinometra parvicirra bore 

 this name, he did not include it in the synonymy of that form. 



Dr. Clemens Hartlaub in 1891 definitely placed Actinometra trachygaster in the 

 synonymy of parvicirra and mentioned 2 specimens from Samoa which he found 

 under that name in the Hamburg Museum. 



In his treatment of Actinometra parvicirra he divided the species into 2 types, 

 which he called A and B. Under type A he described 12 specimens from Amboina, 

 and he also assigned to it 4 specimens from Peru and the 2 from Samoa in the Ham- 

 burg Museum. 



■ Vidensk. Medd. (ra den naturhist. Forening 1 Kdbeiibavn, 1909, p. 127, footoote. 

 97298—31 39 



