156 Transactions. 



bands occur over the whole of one plate and the half of each of the two 

 neighbouring plates, fading out gradually. The pale band occupies one 

 plate. In the dried specimen the arms are uniformly violet dorsally. 



Locality. — In sand under stones near low-water mark, Coral Bay, 

 Sunday Island (July, 1908). Not common. Nothing is said of the colour 

 when alive. 



Remarks. — I supposed for some time that this was 0. caespitosa Lyman, 

 which was obtained at Port Jackson during the " Challenger " expedition ; 

 but from this it differs in (1) the absence of combs at the base of the arm, 

 of which, however, no mention is made in the text, though in the figure 



Fig. 15. Fig. 16. Fig. 17. 



Opiothrix oliveri. 

 Fig. 15. Two upper arm-plates, lateral plates and spines (x 4). 



Fig. 16. Transverse section of an arm, showing the series of spines on one side (x 4). 

 Fig. 17. Two lower arm-plates, with lateral plates and spines (x 4). 



they are shown ; (2) in the form of the under arm-plates ; (3) the propor- 

 tional lengths of the arm-spines ; (4) the colour is said to be faint greenish 

 above (in alcohol), the arms banded with lighter and darker yellowish-brown. 

 It is also distinct from 0. coenilea Hutton. 



Variety. 



Two specimens, also from Coral Bay, differ in one or two features, which 

 do not appear to be of specific importance. 



Disc, 8 mm. in diameter ; arms, about six times as long. 



In alcohol they are purplish-red ; when dried the disc is very pale 

 purple ; the arms are marbled with white spots on a reddish, or in some 

 places purplish, ground, though about every 3rd or 4th dorsal plate is uniform 

 reddish. The spinulation of the disc is less profuse, so that the outlines of 

 the plates are recognizable, and the interbrachial patch of spinules on the 

 actinal surface reaches to the orals. 



The under arm-plate is somewhat angttlar at its lateral margin, instead 

 of being a convex curve. 



The oral is longer, in a tangential direction, in proportion to its radial 

 diameter, and the sides a little more excavated. 



Although the disc is smaller than in the tyjie, the width of the arm is 

 much greater than in that. 



The number of dental papillae is 12, though perhaps some smaller ones 

 were overlooked. 



Ophiura kermadecensis* .sp. nov. 



I have three dried specimens, of which one is quite small ; the other two 

 of about the same size, with a disc-diameter of 4 mm. ; the arm is 7 mm. 



*I have use;! Ophiura Lamk. {= Ophioglyphn Lyman), in accordance with Bell's 

 demonstration of its historical usage. Ho has shown, too, that Lyman's usage of Ophiura 

 {= Ophioderma Miill. & Tr.) is wrong. Both Bronn's " Thierreichs " and Lyman 

 Clark follow Bell (Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (6), viii, 1891, p. 339). 



