DESCEIPTIOl^S OF NEW SPECIES OF STARFISHES AND 

 OPHIURANS, WITH A REVISION OF CERTAIN SPECIES 

 FORMERLY DESCRIBED; MOSTLY FROM THE COLLEC- 

 TIONS MADE BY THE UNITED STATES COMMISSION OF 

 FISH AND FISHERIES. 



By A. E. Verrill. 



In the following list the serial arrangement adopted by Sladen in 

 the Voyage of the Challenger has been followed pretty closely, partly 

 as a matter of convenience, but also because it probably represents, 

 in most cases, the real affinities of the genera more nearly than any 

 other published classification. I am not prepared, however, to adopt 

 all the families and subfamilies proposed by him, 



ASTERIOIDEA. 



Family A r c ii a s T e r i d ^, ( Viguier, 1878) emended, Sladen. 



Benthopectinin^, new subfamily. 



Disk small; rays elongated, angular. Marginal plates large, spinif- 

 erous; an odd one, above and below, in the interradial angles. Dorsal 

 surface covered with simple tiattened plates usually bearing few spiues ; 

 no paxillie. Papuhe simple, arranged on the baso-median part of the 

 rays and on the adjacent parts of the disk. Adambulacral plates, with 

 a salient inner angle bearing spines. Pectinate pedicellarite are some- 

 times present. No superambulacral plates. Dorsal pore very evident. 



BENTHOPECTEN SPINOSUS, Verrill. 



Benthopecten spinosits, Verrill, American Journal of Science, xxvni, p. 218, 



1884. 

 Pararehaster semisquamatus, var. occidentaUs, Sladen, Voyage of the Challenger, 



XXX, p. 10, 1889. 

 Pararehaster armatus, Sladen, op. cit., p. 19, pi. 1, tigs 5, G; pi. 4, figs 5, 6, 1889. 



A comparison of a large series of this species, of various sizes from 

 those that are 15 mm. up to large ones 200 mm. in diameter, shows that 



Proceedings National Museum, Vol. XVII— No. 1000. 



245 



