154 THE DEPTHS OF THE SEA. (CHAP. 1V, 
far short of a ton, and the distance it had to be 
dragged through the water was not much less than 
a mile. As was frequently the case when these 
creat loads came up, there were few of the higher 
animal forms in the dredge. The tangles brought 
up, however, two or three specimens of a very hand- 
some star-fish, the type of a new genus. 
Zoroaster fulgens (Fig. 26) is a five-rayed star-fish, 
250 mm. from tip to tip of the arms, which run close 
up to the centre leaving a small disk not more than 
21.) mm. in diameter. There are four rows of sucking 
feet in the ambulacral grooves, a character which 
places the genus in the first division of the Asterida, 
along with Asteracanthion. The arms are compressed 
laterally, and run up to a central longitudinal ridge, 
which bears a row of large pointed spines articulated 
to a row of projecting knob-like ossicles. From this 
ridge bands of ossicles curve downwards to the edge 
of the ambulacral groove so close together and so 
thick and solid that the arms are continuously and 
strongly mailed over. The disk is paved with large 
calcareous tubercles with articulated spines; the tuber- 
cles and spines becoming larger towards the centre of 
the disk. The whole surface of the body is covered 
with long fine spines, with here and there a group 
of pedicellarize on short soft stalks attached to the 
tops of special spines, while a row of such spines 
bearing large groups of pedicellarize runs along the 
edges of the ambulacral grooves. When living, the 
whole surface of the animal is covered with a 
quantity of glairy mucus. The colour of the perisom 
is a magnificent yellow scarlet, but it is very evan- 
escent, fading immediately in spirit. This is a 
