I5O VERRILL 



large as the spines themselves. On the disc the spines are very 

 much crowded, as they also are along the middle of the ray, forming 

 a more or less distinct median series. The spines of the eyelids and 

 extremities of the rays are much stouter than any of the others either 

 above or below. The madreporic plate is large, but not surrounded 

 by any special arrangement of protecting spines. The minor pedi- 

 cellariae in this species are strongly truncated at the extremity. The 

 major pedicellariae are few in number, and situated on the disc 

 below, small ones at the inner bases of the labial spines, and two 

 or three very large ones in the angle of the rays ; the latter having 

 stout, almost cylindrical valves, one of which is sometimes notched 

 at the extremity for the reception of the point of the other. A large 

 specimen, probably of this species, was found, in which some of these 

 large major pedicellariae also occurred on the sides of the rays. 

 Diameter, usually two and one-half inches. 



" This fine species appears to be allied to A. Mulleri, although so 

 different in aspect. 



" Dredged in considerable numbers on a muddy bottom in from 

 twenty to thirty fathoms, in the Arctic Ocean, north of Bering's 

 Straits. U. S. North Pacific Expedition. Capt. John Rodgers." 



St. Matthew's Island; Lawrence Bay, in 15 to 20 fathoms 

 (Ludwig). 



Natural-size photographs, furnished by Dr. Rathbun, are here 

 reproduced. They are from Stimpson's type, in the U. S. National 

 Museum. 



Ludwig (op. cit), 1886, gives the following information: 



" The present examples of this species, known hitherto only 

 northerly from Bering Strait, from a depth of 20 to 30 fathoms, were 

 discovered southerly from Bering Strait. The largest specimen 

 (6.5 cm. across) comes from St. Matthew's Island; the remaining 

 seven specimens are from Lorenz Bay. Among the latter is found 

 one 5 cm. across, which possesses only four arms, while all the 

 others are five-armed. With the exception of the four-armed indi- 

 vidual, the specimens from Lorenz Bay are young animals, which 

 have a size of from 2 cm. to 3.3 cm. In five cases the depth and con- 

 dition of the bottom are given; the former amounts to 15 to 17 

 fathoms ; the latter is designated as ' fine clay mud.' " 



This appears to be a strictly arctic and circumpolar species. It has 

 not been taken on the southern coast of Alaska, so far as I know. 



The Asterias spitsbergensis Dan. and Koren must be very closely 

 related to this, and probably identical. It has the same general 



