The Comatulids of Torres Strait. 125 
can not be accepted. He says (p. 606) that yellow is ‘‘the colour of 
small specimens and of pentacrinoid young of comatulids, with very 
few exceptions.”” At Maér, a considerable number of small crinoids 
were collected, the young of Comatula purpurea and of Comanthus 
annulatum, chiefly. Not one of these was yellow or even light-colored. 
They appeared to be mostly black, but in view of Mr. Clark’s statement 
that black is a very rare color among comatulids, they may perhaps be 
called dark olive or dark brown. He adds that “‘red is the color of 
all young which are not yellow.’’ One or two young which were red 
were found, but they were very unusual. He goes on: “‘The black 
factor in coloration is merely the result of age and nothing more; all 
full-grown crinoids become dusky,” except certain yellow species. It 
must be said that at Maér many obviously very young comatulids 
were so dark that they were apparently black, while many full-grown 
specimens were brilliant green or red, with very little or no black. 
Concluding his remarks on color, Mr. Clark claims (p. 607) that his 
analysis of the coloration of crinoids ‘‘explains the wide range of hues 
found in these animals; they appear to be merely the result of light, 
which introduces a blue factor on a pigment primarily yellow, more 
rarely red, plus the effect of the age factor, black. Not only the 
crinoids but all the echinoderms appear to obey this law.” It is 
regrettable that the problem of the coloration of echinoderms is not so 
easy of solution and not so nearly solved as this naive remark of Mr. 
Clark implies. It is not difficult to think of numerous cases to which 
his theory would not apply in any way whatever, and while that theory 
may prove of value ultimately in helping us to understand the colora- 
tion of certain groups of crinoids, the claim that it is a “law” is some- 
what premature, while the statement that it appears to be applicable 
to all echinoderms is simply preposterous. 
