« F. .n;Fi"i;i:v i;i;ll. 



poiutcd out tlmt the closely packed aiiangement of the podia, and the distinctness of 

 the two rows of marginal plates are, on Mr. Sladcn's basis of classification of Starfishes, 

 mutually destructive ; hut the well-known observations of 'Prof. Ludwig on Echiiiaster 

 sepositus justify us in supposing that we have here a case of retarded disappearance of 

 the marginals; the crowding of the podia appears to be a much more important 

 morphological character; but the union of these two strikes, I tliink, a final blow at 

 the current classification, against which Prof. Ludwig has already raised liis voice, and 

 the adoption of which by MISI. Delage and Ilerouard in their " Zoologie Concrete " 

 came as a great surprise to me. 



Heuresaster* hodgsoni. 

 (Plate 111.) 



Two specimens of a very fine starfish were taken at al)Out 25 fathoms while in 

 Winter Quarters ; they appear to me to form the type of a new genus, as to the 

 general position of which there can be little doubt ; a still larger specimen was taken 

 from McMurdo Bay at 2 fms. 



It lias somewhat the appearance of Poranid, but has, in the larger examples, spines 

 in the interambulacral actinal areas. Prof. Perrier defines the Poraniidae as follows : 

 " Squelette masque par les te'guments ; marginales apparentes, mais formant au corps 

 un bord tranchant ; squelette ventral forme de se'ries de plaques allant de chaque 

 adambulacraire a une marginale, squelette dorsal reticule." 



I have invented for it a name which will remind the student both of the name of 

 the ship, and of its indefatigable biologist. 



The larger specimens may be thus descriljed : Arms long, tapering to a rather fine 

 point, a is about = 3. The upper surface is smooth and soft to the touch, and has 

 papulae, in ill-defined areas, spread over the whole of it; the edge is (juite sharp, 

 forming almost a ledge, and made up liy a large number of small supero- and infero- 

 marginals. The lower interanil)ulacra covered with some eight rows of small regularly 

 set plates covered with rather coarse granules, and, in the angle, with short spines 

 whi(;h give a hairy appearance to these areas. The amljulacral groove is bounded l)y 

 rows of four or five spines, of which the outermost is small and the innermost spatulate 

 and Ihited at its free end. The podia are stout. At each oral angle there is a huge 

 spine, the distal third of wlii('li is glossy. These specimens are Hat, Imt the smallest 

 example has the disc arched, and this is probably more natural — 



E = 200 r = 70. 

 R = \30 r = 50. 

 E - 90 r = .30. 



Accepting Prof. Terrier's family diagnosis of the Poraniidae, we may make the 

 generic diagnosis (jf Jleuresaster : Abactinal surface only invested l)y integument, 



* Eipeffif, discovei-y. 



