WEST INDIAN STARFISHES 169 



spine, and have the form of ordinary paxillae, the central spinule 

 being short, elavate, like the rest, unless a trifle larger. 



The surrounding stellate spinules are shorter than in the other, 

 elavate, with blunt tips, so that the paxillse appear smaller. On 

 some parts of the rays they are arranged in evident transverse 

 rows, toward each margin. 



The inferomarginal spines are smaller and not so much en- 

 larged or flattened. The secondary spines and the spinules of 

 the under side are nearly the same in both, as are the adambu- 

 lacral spines. 



This specimen may be considered as representing the common 

 or more typical form of the species. 



Variety variabilis (Liitken). 



The specimen figured on pi. xxiii, fig. 2, and of which the struc- 

 tural details are figured on pi. xvi, figures 2, 2a, differs so much 

 from the typical form that it may well receive a varietal name. 

 This I propose to give by restricting Liitken 's name to this form, 

 which is one of those that he particularly described. 



The radii are ll™'" and 48°^'^. 



The superomarginal spines are large, flattened and expanded 

 distally and subtruncated or obtusely lanceolate. Most of the 

 proximal plates have three spines, two larger of nearly equal 

 size, and an adoral smaller one ; other plates have two, subequal 

 or quite unequal ; distally they are pretty regularly two and sub- 

 equal. 



In this specimen the narrow radial paxillary area is covered 

 with rather large spinopaxillge, which are nearly equal on the 

 rays, but become small and crowded on the center of the disk. 

 The larger ones, on the proximal part of the rays, have the cen- 

 tral spinule subcorneal, rather stout, blunt, mostly as long as the 

 diameter of the paxilla ; sometimes there are two ; those next the 

 margin and on the distal part of the rays have the spinule more 

 slender; toward the tips of the rays, the spines disappear and 

 the paxillee are of the ordinary kind and very small. The spin- 

 ules of the larger paxillse around the central spine are long, not 

 very slender, blunt, divergent, not all in the same plane, so that 

 they make rather large openly stellate forms, with the slender 



