SEA LILIES, STARFISHES, ETC.—CLARK. 65 
longer, straighter, stouter one; close to this, but on the 
furrow-margin is a large flattened spine, 2-2.5 mm. long and 
about as wide as the length of the plate ; its outer side is more 
or less deeply furrowed (at least near tip) and its summit is 
a chisel-shaped or clavate edge ; approximately every other 
spine is narrower, smoother and more nearly pointed, but 
there is considerable diversity. On the actinal surface of a 
very few plates, on the basal part of the ray, occurs a single, 
low pointed tubercle or spine. Outside the series of adambu- 
lacral plates occurs a very conspicuous series of spines, the 
largest on the Starfish; there are 2 of these to every 5 adambu- 
lacral plates; they are 2 mm. high or more, and their con- 
spicuous chisel-shaped or clavate tips are frequently more 
than 2 mm. wide ; outside this series, and virtually forming 
the boundary of the actinal surface, is a series of similar but 
smaller and more numerous spines, large ones often alternating 
with small ones as in the adambulacral series. Papulez occur 
between these two actinal series of spines. Oral plates and 
spines not peculiar or notable. Colour (dry), deep purplish- 
brown, tips of the spines lighter but apparently only by 
abrasion. 
This is another remarkable Echinaster, unlike any previously 
known, and making the fourth notable species known only 
from Australia, besides the long-known East Indian species, 
E. eridanella and African EL. vestitus. It is interesting that 
with one exception, each of these six species occurs on a 
different part of the coast; the present species H. swperbus 
comes from the far north-west of the continent; two hundred 
miles further south, at Port Hedland, H. vestitus and the very 
different H. arcystatus have been taken ; over two thousand 
miles of coast separate these three species from EH. glomeratus 
of South Australia ; another gap of some one thousand five 
hundred miles separates that sharply distinct species from 
. acanthodes of southern Queensland ; and just overlapping 
the latter’s area is the southern limit of EH. eridanella, the 
common species of northern Queensland. Of course further 
collections and studies may show that these geographical 
lines of division do not really exist in nature but their apparent 
occurrence seems worth noting. Unlike the various forms of 
Echinaster in the West Indian region to which different names 
have been given, these Australian species are very obviously 
different from each other and it is difficult to conceive of their 
intergrading. 
Loc.—Broome, Western Australia. 
