22 ECHINODERMA OF THE InDIAN MtlSEUM, PART VII, 



StephanometridcB. 



The range of the family Stephanometridae is from the east coast of Africa to 

 northern Australia. Tonga, Fiji and the Philippine Islands, and here again one of 

 the eleven species covers the range of all the others, though west of Ceylon its 

 character becomes somewhat changed. The species of the Stephanometrinae are 

 exclusively littoral, the greatest recorded depth for any one of them being 35 

 fathoms. All of the large species, or the species in which the generic characters 

 have become greatly accentuated, are confined to the Philippines, Moluccas, and 

 the Solomon Islands, while the more extreme genus, Oxymetra, is not known 

 except from the Philippines. 



The family is represented in the western Atlantic by the genus Analcidomelra , 

 a curious type first confused with the genus Oligomefra (0. caribbea). 



Pontiomeiridce. 

 Only three species belonging to the family Pontiometrida? are known, all of 

 them being confined to the central East Indian region ; one only is known from 

 outside of the Philippine Archipelago, this {Pontiometra andersoni) reaching the 

 Andaman Islands, the Mergui Archipelago, New Caledonia, and the Pelew 

 Islands. The family is exclusively littoral, reaching a maximum depth of only 

 58 fathoms, one of the two genera, however, not being known beyond 24. 



Mariamelridcv. 



The family Mariametrida? is confined entirely to the East Indian region, but 

 its species are widely distributed, being found everywhere except in southern 

 Australia and the extreme south of Africa. Two of the three genera, however, 

 are restricted in their range, SeUnemetra occurring only between the Andamans. 

 New Britain, and the Philippine Islands, and Mariametra between the Andaman 

 Islands, the Macclesfield Bank, and Japan. All of the species are littoral, only 

 one, a Japanese species, extending downward beyond 40 fathoms, and that only 

 to 59. As usual, all the very large or otherwise remarkable species are confined 

 to the region between northern Australia and the Philippines. 



Colohotnetridw. 

 Although all the species are confined to the East Indian region, the genera 

 composing the family Colobometridie , five in number, have each a very wide 

 range. The family as a whole occurs from east Africa to northern Australia and 

 southern Japan ; Oligometra and Decametra are found everywhere throughout 

 this area ; Cyllometra occurs from the Persian Gulf to northern Australia and 

 Japan ; Golobometra ranges from the Red Sea to Australia and the Philippine 

 Islands; and C'enojHC/ra is found from the Seychelles and Mauritius to Australia 

 and the Philippines. Most of the species are littoral, though the average habitat 

 is rather deejDer than is the case with the majority of the preceding families ; the 



