GRANULATE BRITTLE-STAR. 227 



star, 1 a species said to be widely spread, but I never 

 saw it before. It is confined to deep water. It is a 

 very fine imposing species, reminding me (a strange 

 comparison, you will say !) of the great South American 

 hairy Spiders, with a brown body and long bristly legs 

 sprawling over a width of eight or ten inches. Its hues 

 are said to be various, but I will describe this as I 

 see it. 



The disk is a plump cushion slightly depressed in 

 the centre, of a light reddish umber, or sand-brown. 

 The base of each ray is rich red-brown, the colour 

 encroaching on the disk with two points, and running 

 down the medial line of the ray. This hue is bordered 

 by velvety black, blending with it; and beyond the 

 middle of the ray, the deepening brown is pretty well 

 lost in the black. The ray is edged with spines stand- 

 ing out at right angles, and set in rows. These spines 

 are black with grey points, and greatly augment the 

 noble aspect of the creature. Each ray is about four 

 and a half inches long, running off to a fine point. 



The animal resents being turned over, and refuses to 

 lie in a supine position, unlike the "malus pastor" 

 of the poet. It curls and twists the slender ray-tips, 

 crawls rapidly, and courses round and round the edge 

 of the pan into which we have dropped it. 



1 Ophiocmna granulata, seen in the upper left-hand corner of Plate xxv. 



