BARBADOS-ANTIGUA EXPEDITION 83 
tain a length of seven inches. They are so sharp that they will 
penetrate shoe-leather, and instances are related where they 
have pierced entirely through the human hand or foot. More- 
over, they are as brittle as glass, always break off in the flesh 
of the victim, and are provided with minute whorls of long 
scale-like barbs, pomted forward so as to make a_lacerated 
wound. These spines cause a burning itching pain which for a 
time is quite severe, and often there is a pronounced numbness 
of the arm or leg which does not, however, last very long. A 
broken fragment can not be pulled out and is apt to cause a fes- 
tering sore which is quite troublesome, although not likely to be 
dangerous, and ultimately the spine seems to be dissolved or at 
least disappears. The best method of treatment is said to be the 
application of grease of some sort, which helps to loosen the frag- 
ments of spines, which then come out or are absorbed. Several 
of our party were wounded more or less severely by this black 
nuisance, and all learned to have a wholesome respect for its 
spines. 
Dr. Hubert Lyman Clark says that in spite of its being one 
of the most familiar of all West Indian Eehini, it has never 
been adequately figured. This is doubtless on account of the 
great difficulty in securing specimens from which most of the 
spines have not been broken off. 
In my ‘‘Bahama Expedition’’ experiments are described by 
which a direct thrust of these spines is demonstrated. Similar, 
but not very extensive experiments at Barbados, gave negative 
results. There is no doubt that this species can see after a 
fashion, as it is able to detect the approach of a human hand or 
foot, as is evidenced by the action of the spines. 
Echinometra viridis is another very common form found 
abundantly in shallow water under stones, where it is often 
associated with the serpent star, Ophiocoma echinata. Echin- 
ometra lucunter is also found, but is less common. It is dark 
eolored and the spines on the ventral surface often have a violet 
tinge. 
Among the species obtained by dredging, perhaps the most 
attractive is Celopleuvrus floridanus, with its exceedingly long 
and flexible spines of brilliant carmine and white, and the 
broadly contrasting zones of dark brown and violet, or, in some 
