176 Mr. J. E. Gray’s Synopsis of 
two fossil genera which did not come within Linck’s or Nardo’s ob- 
ject. Mr. Edward Forbes has lately published a description of some 
Manx species, in which he has divided the Stellonia of Nardo into 
two genera, and added a genus which he calls Luidia for a species not 
known to Linck: he has also used the number of series of suckers 
(a character noticed by Muller and others) as a generic one. 
Linck divides the Starfishes (Asterias, Linn.) into two great groups 
by the presence or absence of the ambulacra on the lower side of the 
arms, calling the first, which exactly agrees with the Asterias of 
Lamarck, the <Asteriade of this paper, “ stellis fissis,’ and the 
second ‘“‘ stellis integris.”’ The latter group he divides into three 
classes : viz. 
1. Stellis vermiformibus = the Ophiura of Lamarck. 
2. Stellis crinitis? = the Comatula of the same author. 
3. Astrophyton, which is the Huryale of the same. Thus we 
see, that he distinguished all the natural groups, which were after- 
wards thrown together into a single genus to be artificially divided 
into sections by Linnzus and his followers. Linck’s groups were not 
again recognized until nearly half a century after the publication 
of his valuable work. 
In dividing the fissured Starfishes, or Asteriad@ as we call them in 
modern nomenclature, into genera, Linck began badly by paying too 
much attention to the number of the rays, though it is evident, by 
the names he has given to the different species in his genera, that he 
was aware that some which he separated on this account were very 
nearly allied to each other. Overlooking the genera which are formed 
solely on this character, such as Trisactis, Tetractis, Hexactis and He- 
ptactis, which are all formed on varieties or distortions of other spe- 
cies, we shall find that the others noticed by him are excellent ge- 
nera, and such as are now acknowledged. His 
1, Pentanogaster = Goniaster (*) Agassiz. Scutasteries, Blainv. 
2. Pentaceros = Goniaster (**) Agassiz. Asterina, Nardo. Pla- 
tasteries, Blainv. 
3. Astropecten = Stellaria, Nardo. Asterias, Agassiz. 
4. Palmipes = Anseropoda, Nardo. Palmasteries, Blainv. 
5. Stella coriacea = Stellonia, Forbes. Stellonia, part, Nardo. 
Pentasteries and Solasteries, Blainv. 
6. Pentadactylosaster = Cribella, Agassiz not Edwards. Linckia, 
Nardo not Agassiz. 
7. Octactis, 
ie a= = Solaster, Forbes. Stellonia, part, Nar ‘do 
- Decactis, ee ae 
10. Dodecactis, oe 
11. Triskaidecactis, 
Nardo, in the Naturforscher for 1833, and in the Isis for 1834, p. 
716, gives the following arrangement of the European species, which 
he divides into five genera :— 
1. Stellaria=Astropecten, Linck. 
2. Stellonia = Stella coriacea, Linck, and his other genera above 
enumerated. 
