54 T. GishKx. 



very variable in ap])eai'ance and iuiihIxt: to this is added, as mention- 

 ed above, the vaiying devehtpinenf and distribution of tlie pinnule- 

 conil)s. In ]^iiiii(( annnkda the combs in tiie abo\e-described specimen 

 reached as far as P,,. In a sjieciincii from Java of the saiiic foj'ui- 

 series (slill not deseriljcij: possiltly. however, belonging to a new spe- 

 cies on at-eoimt (tf the veiy long, slender and well-separated arms) 

 the eombs oceurr on eveiy second pinnule and reached at least 

 P35. As to Vania parcicirrd I i-efer to the descriptions given above. 



A. H. Clark in a letter to me writes about both these speeies as 

 follows: )/['he speeies of Gomasteriitiv aic the most diftieult of all Cri- 

 iioids — 1 may even say of all the I^]chinoderms — to detei'mine. The 

 two species which I call pui vicirra and unnahiin are very likely arbi- 

 trary divisions of one type: but it is con\cnirnt to call the smaller 

 individual with 30 or fewer ai-ms jHtrvicirra and the larger with 30 — 

 7t) arms' annnlata. Many specimens of the latter with the III Br 

 sei'ies '1 are practically iiulislinguishable h'om cei'tain s))ecies of Coinan- 

 iheria . .» 



Accoi'ding to this division Coinan/cr inpica Sp. 2 Mihi 191U would 

 be assigned to Vani'i ((nnnlata. Ne\'ertheless it corresponds closely 

 with the other specimens in the Mjobergian i-olleetion and has also 

 unusually short arms and therefore 1 should be disposed to include it 

 in Vania /larvicirra. 



As to the reason of the polyforniiiy n\ this subgenus 1 will only 

 point to the following: 



It is |)ossible that the two speeies of Vania have become a rub- 

 bish heap for diveis species diftieult of solution oi' types inconve- 

 nient for the systematist. In such a case it would be possible to put 

 order into the now confusing multitude and t(» get a survey over the 

 existing types by a detailed desci'iption of specimens. Charactei'istics 

 that might perhaps be a])plied would lie the number. ]tresence or ab- 

 sence of eiri-i. the br of the arm-bases, the ap|»eaiance and fornuition 

 of the iir-segments. of the division seiies. of the proximal (and also 

 ilistal) |iiiinules and pinnulars. of Ihe disk and eventuallx of calcareous 

 spicules, that is to say Ihe inclusion of all chai-acteristics and then an 

 examination of a large matei-ial. 



' Accordiiie lu tlic .SiliOf'a woik 3,j — OO arms. 



