SHALLOW-WATER STARFISHES 34/ 



Astropccten erinaceus Gray. 



San Diego (.Ives), 1800. Paiianiic fauna. 

 Luidia brcvispina Liitk. 



San Diego (Ives), 1890. Panamic fauna. 



V. SOME COMPARISONS WITH OTHER FAUN^. 



The following remarks and lists are intended to give only a gen- 

 eral view of the relations of the Northwest Coast faunae with those 

 of other regions. 



As remarked in the Introduction and shown in the preceding lists, 

 a considerable percentage of the starfishes of the Beringian fauna are 

 circumpolar. 



The total number of species and subspecies listed in the Beringian 

 fauna is forty-four. Of these fifteen, or thirty-three per cent, are 

 known to be circumpolar. Eight species, or about eighteen per cent, 

 appear to belong more properly to the Columbia-Alaskan fauna, 

 while many of the remaining species extend southward into the latter. 

 Six of the remainder reach Siberia, and four species reach Japan. 



About sixteen species are either peculiar to the fauna or have there 

 their principal development, so far as known. Of these, several are 

 so closely allied to North Atlantic and Arctic species that they must 

 be considered as of arctic or subarctic origin. Such are Asterias 

 midticlava; A. polythela; Leptasterias arctica; Henricia sanguino- 

 lenta var. rudis; H. tutnida borealis; H. tumida; H. arctica; Solaster 

 dazvsoni arctica; Pteraster marsippus; Pteraster obscurus octastcr; 

 Pterasterides aporus; Leptychaster paciHcus. 



It is not improbable that most of these, as well as various species 

 now circumpolar in range, may have originated in Bering Sea or 

 adjacent waters. 



A few species are identical with, or more closely allied to, northern 

 Japanese or Asiatic species than to those of any other fauna. These 

 are Allasterias rathhuni, and subspecies nortonensis; A. anomala; 

 Solaster paxillatus, Patiria miniata, and Glyphaster anomalus. Such 

 species may have had their origin on the Asiatic coast, for the oceanic 

 currents are mainly from that direction. 



When compared with the Antarctic species, we find very little 

 affinity, except in the cases of a few very widely distributed deep- 

 water genera and species, such as Ceramaster patagonicus, Ctenodis- 

 cus crispatus. These are of doubtful origin, having related species 

 in many regions. See below. 



