WEST INDIAN STARFISHES 87 



All these families, except Nos. ii, iii, v, and ix are represented 

 in the West Indian area, but some of them occur only in deep 

 water. 



Subfamilies of Goniasterid^. 



Subfamily I. Goniasterin^ Verrill = Pentagonasterin<E 



Sladen (pars). 

 Subfamily II. Pseudarchasterin^ Sladen. 

 Subfamily III. Mediasterin^ Verrill. 

 Subfamily IV. Nectriin^ Per. ; Fisher. 

 Subfamily V. Hippasteriin^ Verrill. 

 Subfamily VI. Anthenein^ Fisher (sense restricted). 

 Subfamily VII. Leptogonasterin^ Perrier. 

 Subfamily VIII. Chitonasterin^ Fisher. 



Those subfamilies represented in the West Indian shallow- 

 water fauna are the first, third and seventh. But the seventh is 

 essentially a deep-sea group ; only a few stray examples occur- 

 ring in less than 150 fathoms. The third and fifth families are 

 well represented in the deeper waters. The others are chiefly 

 extralimital. 



Suborder Valvulosa Verrill. 



ValvulatcB (order) Perrier, Nouv. Arch. Mus. Hist. Nat., vi, 1885. 

 Valvata (order) Perrier, Exped. Trav. et Talism., pp. 22, 23, 28, 29, 1894. 

 Valvata (suborder) Verrill, Eevision, Trans. Conn. Acad., x, p. 200, 1899. 

 Valvulosa Verrill, North Pacific Starfishes, p. 284, 1914a. 



These starfishes are stellate or pentagonal and usually rather 

 stiff in appearance, and are nearly always five-rayed. The dorsal 

 plates are most commonly tesselated and granulated, or else take 

 on the character of protopaxillge or pseudopaxillae. Owing to 

 the generally close union of the plates, especially of the large 

 marginal plates, most of these starfishes are rather rigid, showing 

 much less flexibility than in most other groups. The Ophidias- 

 teridcB are exceptional in this respect, for they are mostly flexible 

 in life. 



Ambulacral feet are large, with well developed suckers. 



Pedicellariae are often lacking; when present they are usually 

 valvular, foraminate and sessile, or fossate. The valves may be 

 either granuliform, or large and broad, or narrow and spoon- 



