108 BULLETIN 88, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



Formation and locality. The holotype was collected by Mr. Wendt 

 near Frankfort, Kentucky, apparently in the Lower Trenton. The 

 writer's attention was called to it by Prof. Arthur M. Miller, who 

 has it in his charge at the State University of Kentucky at Lexington. 



PROMOPAL^ASTER, species undetermined. 

 Plate 14, figs. 1, 2. 



Asterias primordialis ANONYMOUS, two lithographic figures sent out by the Western 

 Academy of Sciences previous to 1872 without description or known author. 



Nothing more is known of this species than the two good original 

 illustrations reproduced here. These figures were sent to F. B. Meek 

 on May 18, 1872, by Mr. D. H. Shaffer, of Cincinnati, Ohio, with the 

 following comment (they were found in the Meek correspondence 

 kept in the United States National Museum): "The lithograph in- 

 closed of this Asterias was found here, and in the possession of 

 Joseph Clark (deceased). I saw it, and this is a faithful picture of it. 

 I think the fossil is either in the possession of his nephew or in the 

 cabinet of Maxwell's Female Seminary, which now is the owner of 

 Mr. Clark's cabinet. I think it is worthy a place with Palseaster 

 shafferi in the illustrations of the Ohio Geological Survey." 



From the illustration one sees that this form had on the abactinal 

 side of the rays about nine columns of ossicles. Of these the radial, 

 supra- and inframarginals are largest. Between the marginals there 

 is a single column of tiny ambital pieces, while on each side of the 

 radials are two columns of small accessory pieces. The structure of 

 the disk pieces can not be made out. 



The interbrachial areas are small and do not appear to have more 

 than two inwardly crowded inframarginals, but there may also be 

 present single very small axillary pieces. 



The adambulacral and inframarginal columns appear to have not 

 more than 20 ossicles hi a column. Of ambulacrals there are some- 

 what more, about 25, and these alternate slightly with one another. 



"Asterias primordialis" appears to be the young of Promopalse- 

 aster speciosus (Meek), and the differences can all be explained as due 

 to incomplete development; that is, the former has fewer ossicles and 

 fewer secondary columns of plates. 



Formation and locality. From the hills of Cincinnati, in the Mays- 

 ville formation. The present whereabouts of this fine specimen is 

 unknown. A still smaller and younger specimen is in the Faber 

 collection of the University of Chicago (No. 9567), and was collected 

 at 350 feet above the Ohio River at Cincinnati. It has but a single 

 axillary plate in each interbrachial area, and about 15 adambulacrals 

 in a column. It is interesting to note that in these young individuals 

 of Promopalxaster, the smaller they are the more they approach 

 Mesopalseaster and suggest Hudsonaster. 



