1869.] 387 [Verrill. 



the end of the ambulacral grooves on the upper side. The dorsal 

 membrane is perforated by minute scattered pores, and numerous 

 small, slender, acute spines project from its surface at regular inter- 

 vals; these are larger on the disk and quite small on the outer part 

 of the rays. Central opening small, somewhat rounded, surrounded 

 by small spines. Dorsal paxillas, as seen when the dorsal membrane 

 is removed, elevated and rather stout, surmounted at the summit by 

 •six to ten, slender, acicular, divergent spinules, one of which is usually 

 larger, and projects through the membrane. Rays beneath bordered 

 on each side by about thirty slender, transverse, spine-like ribs, 

 which project but slightly beyond the margin, and are connected by 

 the web-like membrane quite to their ends. Interambulacral plates 

 thin, each bearing usually four very slender, elongated spines, many 

 of them with small pedicellariaj near the tips; the inner one consid- 

 erably shortest; all connected together by a web, which retreats be- 

 tween the points to a considerable extent; near the mouth there are 

 often five spines . At each interradial corner of the mouth there are 

 ten long, slender, pointed spines, the six middle ones about equal In 

 length, the two outer ones on each side much smaller, the outermost 

 considerably smaller than the jireceding; just back of these, and side 

 by side, are two long, slender, somewhat curved, acute spines, about 

 equal in length to the longer ones of the group in front of them. 



Radius of disk .37 inch; of rays .57; width of rays at base .50; 

 elevation of back .35; length of longest transverse ribs of the rays 

 beneath .15; of interambulacral spines .06 to .08; of the spines at 

 mouth angles, about .08. 



Eio Janeiro (?) ; J. D. Dana, U. S. Expl. Expedition. 



Heliaster Kubiniji Xantus. 



Proceedings Phil. Acad. Nat. Sciences, 1860, p. 568; Verrill, Trans. 

 Conn. Acad., I, p. 292, 1867. 



Capt. Pedersen has sent one good specimen of this rare species, 

 obtained at La Paz. It has twenty-three rays, and is eight inches in 

 diameter; the rays are 1.5 to 2 inches long; the disk six inches broad. 



On the upper side the rays, especially near the end, are thickly 

 covered with small oval pedicellariae, mixed with other very minute 

 ones of similar form. 



OPHIUROIDEA. 



Astrophyton panamense Verrill, op. cit., p. 251. 



Three large specimens of this sjiecies, previously known only from 



