576 Verrill, JVotes on Radiata. 



diameter "OG. The color is brownish orange above, reddish below. 

 There is a median row of 6 to 8, distant, large, blunt spines on the 

 upper side of each ray, which does not extend nearly to the end of 

 the ray ; on each side of the dorsal surfafce, near the margin, there is 

 a similar row of in or 12, longer spines, which extend to the end of 

 the rays and are directed obliquely upward ; on each side of the ven- 

 tral surface there are two rows of spines, like the last, but the row 

 next to the interambulacral plates has 18 or 20 spines. All these 

 spines are surrounded at base by about 6 radiating ossicles beneath 

 the surface, each of which bears on its outer end one of the small 

 roughly granulated papillae, which are numerous on the dorsal surface. 

 There are usually 0, small, slender spines on the inner edge of each 

 interambulacral plate, of which the two middle ones are longest and 

 the tivo outer very small ; the single stout spine on the outer edge of 

 each plate is about twice as long as the longest of the inner ones. 



Acanthaster Ellisii VerrDi. 



Echinaster Ellisii Gray, Annals Nat. Hist., 1840, p. 281 ; Synopsis Starfishes of Brit- 

 ish Museum, p. 12, 1866. 

 Acnnfhaster Solaris {pars) Duj. et Hupe, Hist. nat. des Zooph. Ech., p. 352, 1862. 

 Acanthaster Ellisii Verrill, Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., xii, p. 385, 1869. 



Two specimens received from Capt. Pedersen, who collected them 

 at La Paz, appear to belong to this rare species. The diameter of the 

 smaller one is 1'5 inches; length of rays "iO. The spines are long 

 (•15 inch) and quite slender. There are five madreporic plates, which 

 are small, round, and prominent; and 13 rays. Color light red, the 

 upper spines rose-red ; those below pink with white tips ; the general 

 color of the lower surface is yellowish white. 



The larger specimen is 4 inches in diameter; greater radius 2 

 inches ; radius of disk 1 '25 ; length of largest spines of back -25 ; 

 diameter at base '05. It has 5 madreporic plates and 12 rays, sepa- 

 rated below by small interradial areas. The whole surfoce, above and 

 below, is covered with small granules, which also extend over the sur- 

 face of the spines, nearly to the tips. The interambulacral plates 

 bear a row of slender, elongated, blunt spines, bordering the ambula- 

 cral furrows, each plate bearing a group of three spines, of which the 

 central is the longest ; between these groups there is often a large, 

 long, rounded, slightly tapering, obtuse pedicellaria, nearly equal in 

 length and size to the smaller spines adjacent; on the outer part of 

 each of these plates there is also a long and large, obtuse spine, simi- 

 lar to those on the interradial plates. 



