130 Natural History Bulletin. 



when we found a magnificent crinoid with a spread of about 

 twelve inches growing in water less than three feet deep^ 

 These specimens were of a rich golden brown color, which 

 has not faded in alcohol, and belonged to the genus Actino- 

 inetra. The mouth is even more eccentric than usual in this 

 genus, and the pinnules are long and slender. The arms ap- 

 pear to be more brittle than in other crinoids, and the ultimate 

 ramifications are twent3'-four in number. This is probably 

 the handsomest species of free crinoid secured during the 

 cruise, and the unexpectedness of the discovery added to its 

 interest. 1 



Only two species of star-fish were found. One is an As- 

 fcn'iia, w'hich is quite small, not exceeding an inch in diameter. 

 It is a very robust species, almost pentagonal. The dorsal 

 surface is covered with imbricating plates with a dermal pa- 

 pilla peeping from the upper edge of each. One specimen is 

 four-rayed and almost perfectly square in outline. Star-fish 

 seem to be much more apt to have additional rays than to 

 have less than the typical number of five. By far the most 

 abundant species at this station was a species of Astropectoi, 

 which came up in great numbers when w^e dredged across the 

 channel near the quarantine buoys. At no other spot did we 

 find star-fishes so abundant in individuals as here. Like 

 others of the AsTROPECTiNiD.-ii. this species is partial to a clear, 

 sandv bottom. We greatly admired the arrangement of pax- 

 illa\ whereby these animals were able to keep their dermal 

 tentacles constantlv bathed in fresh sea-water without the 

 channels becoming clogged with sand. So far as my obser- 

 vation goes, it would seem that species with true paxillaj 

 always live in sand or mud. and are as a rule flat, not vaulted, 

 and thus especially apt to be covered with sand. 



The serpent-stars were unusually abundant in this region, 

 the genus Ophiiira being represented by some half-dozen 

 species. The most abundant of the;se is the OpJiiiira ciiicrca 



^ Professor Alexander Agassiz informs nie that he has found large 

 CoinatiilcE in shallow water at the Tortugas. Whether it is the same spe- 

 cies as ours or not I do not know. 



