ANNOTATED LIST. 51 
Nardoa variolata. 
Asterias variolatus Lamarck. 1816. Anim. s. Vert., 2, p. 565. Tab. Encye. Meth., pl. 119, figs. 4, 5. 
Nardoa variolata Gray. 1840. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., 6, p. 286. 
Nardoa agassizii Gray. 1840 Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., 6, p. 287. 
(Plate 28, Figures 3 and 4.) 
The original locality assigned to this species was ‘‘ Mediterranean Sea,” but it later 
transpired that this was a mistake. Zanzibar and Mauritius are the localities from which 
it is best known; it occurs as far south on the mainland coast as Matemo Island, Portuguese 
Kast Africa, and northward it extends to the Red Sea. It has been reported from the Amir- 
ante Islands, from the Maldives, and from Ceylon. Records from further east are probaby 
due to confusion with N. novecaledonie. It is one of the smaller species of the genus, 
R rarely exceeding 90 mm. The color is apparently not conspicuous, as none of those who 
have seen the species alive have thought it worth while to speak of it. To judge from the 
very unreliable evidence of dry and alcoholic material, the color in life is a uniform dark 
grayish-brown. 
Nardoa pauciforis. 
Linckia pauciforis von Martens. 1866. Arch. f. Naturg., 32, pt. 1, p. 69. 
Nardoa pauciforis Sladen. 1889. Challenger Ast., p. 412. 
Nardoa finschi de Loriol. 1891. Mem. Soc. Phys. Hist. Nat., Genéve. Suppl. vol., No. 8, p. 28, pl. ii (xi), figs. 4-49. 
It is remarkable that de Loriol in describing finschi makes no reference to pauciforis, 
but it may be because he did not think any species with 12 to 20 pores in each papular 
area could possibly be called pauciforis. Indeed, von Martens particularly states that the 
number of papul is only 4 to 6 in an area, and it is not strange therefore that de Loriol 
thought his specimen could not be that species. As a matter of fact, pauciforis shows 
great diversity in this particular, although I have seen no specimen of which it could be 
said ‘‘papul only 4-6 to an area.” Nevertheless I feel no doubt that finschi and pauciforis 
are synonymous, for Fisher says, in litt.: ‘‘N. finschi is a synonym of N. pauciforis. * * * * 
I saw specimens of pauciforis in the British Museum probably identified by Perrier. The 
species is distinguished by the small abactinal plates—12 or 13 across the base of ray 
between the two superomarginal series: No. 2322 seems to be typical.”” Now, No. 2322 is 
one of the specimens which I took at Mer, and of which there is a good series in the Museum 
of Comparative Zoélogy. There are 4 to 14 papules in each area. 
This is one of the larger species of the genus, for, while von Martens says R = 100 mm. 
and de Loriol says 115 mm., the Museum of Comparative Zodlogy series ranges in length 
of ray from less than 70 to over 140 mm. Besides the specimens from Mer, we have one 
labeled “Alaska” (obviously a blunder); two from Bantayan Reef, Cebu, Philippine 
Islands; one from Erub, Torres Strait; two from Green Island, Queensland, and seven from 
an unknown locality. These last are labeled “Mauritius?” but it is probable they are 
from the Ward North Queensland collection. The original specimens of pauciforis were 
from Flores, and the Alert took three specimens at Bird Island, North Queensland, just 
south of the Torres Strait region. It is also known from Amboina. 
At Green Island, near Cairns, Queensland, at Erub, and at Mer, this Nardoa is fairly 
common but not abundant. In life it is more or less bright buff or fawn-color, palest on 
the convexities of the skeleton, and deepest in the intervening concavities. The color 
changes little in aleohol but in drying it tends to become paler where pale and browner 
where dark, and duller everywhere. Both on the reef-flat and in an aquarium this sea-star 
is very sluggish and makes no attempt to reach either sunshine or shadow, remaining 
inertly where placed. 
