srAR-FISHKS. 159 



ulatimi i>f ri:it, irrcuuhir, st;ir->liM|K'il |il;itcs, rrniii wlTu'li divcriic 1(iii<j;cr flnt |ii('ces 

 ciiniii'i'tiiiii- the iitliiM-s liit;'t'tlicr ; tlic pl.-itcs Mini liicir (•(iniicctini;- links :\vi- :ill ilil'iri- 

 0Mtc(l, thiit iji, (i\ crl;!]) cMcli hiIkt. 



A-ihrinii foil Hill iH-v\u-^ ill till' Wcsl lii.lii's :iiiil in Florida. J.s7r;v'//<^ is ;i lariiT 

 l;-i'1ius, almost worlil-wiilc in its (lislriliiilion, Tlic skeleton is foniied of iinlii-icated 

 or o\ ei--la|i|iiiiu and notched ossieiila, ami this structure is usual in the family, an ex- 

 ception lieiii'4- /h'sii.'i/i n'lni (ihiiuriiinlis, in \vlii<-li sinunlar species, a native of the coast 

 of X<'\v Caledonia, the plates of the liac'k are disjoined, leaviiiL;' lietweeii them mem- 

 liraiioiis spaces, most of which are pierced liy a tentacle. In the u'caius I'dtiriii^ the 

 plates of tlu' h.ai'k are rounded, .and simply touch eacli other. P. cra.sxii is from 

 Western Aiistrali.i. 



In the (ioNiAsi i;i:iii.i-;, the skeleton, at le.ist on the lower face, is formed of roiindi'd 

 or pol\i;dnal ossicles, formiiiL;' a kind of |)a\ianent, and there are iisn.ally two rows of 

 maruiiial plates of comiiaratively larye si/.c. The body apjiroaehes more or less to the 

 |ientau'(>nal shape, tlie .arms jirojectiiiL;' hut sliulitly, .and tiiere are two rows of suckia-s. 

 Some \cry tine examples of this family are found ii] the west coast of this con- 

 tinent, i'romiiii'jit aiiioiiL;- tlnan is (Jnn.itcr ocriileidnlis, which ineasui'es eie'lit or 

 nint' inches aia-oss, .and is also of consideralile thickness in the centre of the disc. It 

 ranges northw.ard to Lower C'.aliforiii.a. 



A Very lieautiful species, with Iiuil;, sli.irp spines upon .a lirinht reel ilisc, is Xido- 

 reUia ariuata, a iK'utagonal, cake-like star some five or six inches across, ^biiphkotlcr 

 insit/nis, another Lower Californiau species, has short, flat arms and a flat disc, and the 

 regular arrangeiiK'iit of itssjiiues .and ti'sselatcd plates naiders it exceedingly heautifiil. 

 A more northern species is Mei/idufcr i ifim/is, which h.as been found .as far north as 

 Puget Sound. 



A-^tnii/iiiiiiiiii j//u-i/;/iaiiinii is ,a Large, bright-red pentagonal star-fish, which resides 

 at depths of from twenty to fifty t'atlioms, on rocky liottotns, in the Gulf of Maine and 

 northward. ,i. i/ranuhm' is from Scandinavia, /'eiitiireros re/irulatus is about eight 

 inches across the arms, and is found on botli sides of the Atlantic, at the Ca]ie Yerde 

 Islands, and in the West Indies. In ('ulcltii the shajie is ]ientagoiial, and the tips of 

 the ainbulacr.a aji])ear on the ilors.il surface. 'I'he (ioni.isteridiv are mon' numerous 

 in types than any other family of star-fishes, 'j'hcir princijial centre of distribution 

 seems to be tlie west coast of Australia ami the Malaysian and Melanesian archi- 

 pelagos. 



The LiNi KIA11.1-; h.a\c .a skeh'ton composed of rounded or elliptical ossicles, either 

 contignous or united by rods. There ari' no spines, but the surface of tlie bodv is 

 smooth or iniifornily grannl.ar. The species are most numerous in hot regions. 



JJnckia imifiifi<'ial!.-<, :\ h"nc species raii'.dni:' fr<iin Lower Califcuaiiii to I'eru, and 

 Linrkia i/nHJIikjH, of the West indies .■nid Klorid.a. are examples of the typical 

 genus. (Jjiluilid.-il, r jii/ruiniiliiH.-i is .a large species with the s.ame range as L. inii. 

 fasciidi.'!. 



The Eciiix.\srKi!iii.K, asdi^fined by I'crrica', lia\c .1 skeleton com]iose(l of a network 

 of lengthened ossicles, and haxc I wo rows of ambulacral feet. Spines ari.se from the 

 ossicles of the dorsal surface. 



ICcJiinaster sentus is a five-armed species, abundant in the West Indies and 

 Florida, and extending north to Xew Jersey. The s])ines are comjiletely sheathed in 

 membrane, and occur only at the angles of the limestone polygons of the dorsal 

 surface. Solaster endecahns. eleven or fewer smooth arms, and is widely spread in the 



