﻿ECHINODEKMATA. 
  139 
  

  

  10. 
  OpMocoma 
  brevipes. 
  

  

  Peters, 
  Archivfilr 
  Natur. 
  1852, 
  p. 
  85 
  ; 
  see 
  Lyman, 
  p. 
  27. 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Lj'man 
  (Prel. 
  List, 
  p. 
  27) 
  gives 
  as 
  synonyms 
  of 
  this, 
  his 
  own 
  

   0. 
  insv.laria 
  (about 
  which 
  there 
  will, 
  I 
  suppose, 
  be 
  no 
  dispute), 
  the 
  

   0. 
  ternisjnna 
  of 
  Martens, 
  an 
  unnamed 
  specimen 
  of 
  which, 
  from 
  

   the 
  island 
  of 
  Mauritius, 
  has 
  been 
  for 
  many 
  years 
  in 
  the 
  collection 
  of 
  

   the 
  British 
  Museum 
  and 
  has 
  for 
  a 
  long 
  time 
  been 
  a 
  source 
  of 
  much 
  

   disquiet 
  to 
  myself 
  (I 
  am 
  now 
  persuaded 
  that 
  this 
  is 
  a 
  specimen 
  to 
  

   which 
  Dr. 
  von 
  Martens 
  would 
  have 
  given 
  the 
  name 
  ternisjj'ma), 
  

   Ophiocoma 
  varieguta 
  and 
  0. 
  brevisjnnosa 
  of 
  E. 
  A. 
  Smith, 
  from 
  the 
  

   island 
  of 
  Rodriguez. 
  I 
  do 
  not 
  know 
  that 
  a 
  more 
  western 
  locality 
  

   than 
  the 
  island 
  just 
  named 
  has 
  ever 
  been 
  recorded 
  l)y 
  a 
  zoologist 
  ; 
  

   at 
  any 
  rate, 
  Dr. 
  Haacke 
  did 
  not 
  detect 
  the 
  species 
  among 
  the 
  Ophi- 
  

   urids 
  collected 
  by 
  Prof. 
  Mtibius 
  in 
  the 
  island 
  of 
  Mauritius 
  *, 
  unless 
  

   he 
  has 
  been, 
  as 
  is 
  possible, 
  misled 
  by 
  the 
  definition 
  of 
  0. 
  squamata 
  

   given 
  by 
  M 
  tiller 
  and 
  Troschel 
  ; 
  the 
  three 
  or 
  four 
  lateral 
  spines, 
  the 
  

   two 
  teutacle-scales, 
  and 
  the 
  square 
  markings 
  on 
  the 
  upper 
  arm- 
  

   plates 
  might 
  deceive 
  a 
  hasty 
  nomcuclator, 
  but 
  they 
  could 
  not, 
  I 
  

   think, 
  mislead 
  any 
  one 
  who 
  refers 
  to 
  the 
  second 
  edition 
  of 
  Lamarck 
  

   (vol. 
  iii. 
  ly40), 
  p. 
  225, 
  where 
  he 
  will 
  find 
  references 
  to 
  the 
  plates 
  

   of 
  Link 
  and 
  0. 
  F. 
  Miiller. 
  Although 
  the 
  species 
  there 
  figured 
  is 
  

   regarded 
  by 
  the 
  editors 
  as 
  distinct 
  from 
  0. 
  squamata, 
  the 
  resemblance 
  

   between 
  such 
  an 
  Oi^hiurid 
  as 
  this 
  Ophiocoma 
  and 
  the 
  Ophiothrix 
  

   pentapliyUum 
  figured 
  by 
  the 
  two 
  just-mentioned 
  naturalists, 
  is 
  so 
  

   very 
  slight 
  that 
  we 
  are 
  forbidden 
  from 
  supposing 
  that 
  the 
  Ophiura 
  

   squamata, 
  Lamk. 
  {Opiiiocoma 
  squamata, 
  M. 
  & 
  Tr.), 
  is 
  a 
  near 
  ally 
  of 
  

   an 
  Ophiothrix 
  or 
  Ophiothrix-lWa 
  form. 
  

  

  The 
  variations 
  exhibited 
  by 
  this 
  very 
  widely 
  distributed 
  species 
  

   are 
  indeed 
  remarkable. 
  It 
  seemed 
  for 
  a 
  time 
  that 
  the 
  larger 
  number 
  

   and 
  smaller 
  size 
  of 
  the 
  mouth-papilla) 
  at 
  the 
  inner 
  angles 
  of 
  0. 
  varie- 
  

   gata 
  and 
  of 
  0. 
  hrtvispinosa 
  would 
  indicate 
  a 
  certain 
  difference 
  ; 
  but 
  

   a 
  difference 
  of 
  quite 
  equal 
  extent 
  can 
  be 
  detected 
  in 
  the 
  mouth- 
  

   organs 
  of 
  a 
  single 
  specimen. 
  The 
  hollow 
  square 
  marking 
  on 
  the 
  

   upper 
  arm-plates, 
  which, 
  when 
  well 
  developed, 
  seems 
  to 
  give 
  such 
  a 
  

   characteristic 
  appearance 
  to 
  the 
  arms 
  of 
  this 
  species, 
  may 
  be 
  replaced 
  

   by 
  a 
  black 
  patch, 
  or 
  there 
  may 
  be 
  a 
  transverse 
  bar, 
  or 
  there 
  may 
  be 
  

   only 
  the 
  two 
  lines 
  left 
  which 
  run 
  parallel 
  to 
  the 
  long 
  axis 
  of 
  the 
  

   arm 
  ; 
  again, 
  there 
  may 
  be 
  spots, 
  or 
  the 
  coloration 
  may 
  be 
  fairly 
  

   uniform. 
  The 
  colour 
  of 
  the 
  disk 
  may 
  be 
  pale, 
  spotted, 
  or 
  reticu- 
  

   lated; 
  the 
  mouth- 
  shields 
  spotted 
  or 
  uniform 
  in 
  colour. 
  

  

  Levuka, 
  Fiji. 
  

  

  * 
  MiJbius, 
  ' 
  Beitrage 
  zur 
  Meeresfauna 
  der 
  Insel 
  Mauritius 
  ' 
  &c. 
  (Berlin, 
  1880). 
  

   Iq 
  what 
  follows 
  I 
  may 
  seem 
  to 
  speak 
  somewhat 
  harshly 
  of 
  Dr. 
  Haacke's 
  services 
  ; 
  

   but 
  I 
  am 
  bound 
  to 
  point 
  out 
  that 
  the 
  list 
  of 
  Ophiurids 
  given 
  on 
  p. 
  50 
  of 
  this 
  

   work 
  has 
  no 
  scientific 
  value 
  whatever. 
  0. 
  dentata 
  has 
  been 
  for 
  many 
  years 
  

   regarded, 
  first 
  by 
  Lyman 
  (18()5) 
  and 
  since 
  by 
  others, 
  as 
  " 
  only 
  a 
  middling-sized 
  

   0. 
  echinata;" 
  the 
  type 
  of 
  0. 
  aquamata 
  has 
  been 
  lo.st, 
  " 
  and 
  nobody 
  can 
  tell 
  

   what 
  it 
  was, 
  though 
  it 
  might 
  have 
  been 
  0. 
  brevipes." 
  Dr. 
  Haacke 
  makes 
  no 
  

   reference 
  to 
  either 
  of 
  these 
  judgments. 
  

  

  