302 SUBANTARCnC ISLANDS OF NEW ZEALAND. [Echinoderms. 



Fam. STICHASTERTDAE. 



Stichaster, Miiller and Troschel, 1840. 



Stichaster suteri, Loriol. 



1894. .Stichaster suteri, Loriol, Revue Suisse de Zool., xi, p. 477, pi. xxiii, fig. 2. 

 1879. Asterias rupicoln, Hutton (non Verrill), Trans. N.Z. Inst., xi, p. 306. 

 1895. Stichaster littoralis, Farquhar, Trans. N.Z. Inst., xxvii, p. 206, pi. xiii, 

 fig. 2. 1897. S. suteri, Farquhar, Journ. Linn. Soc. (Zool.), xxvi, p. 197. 



To Mr. Farquhar belongs the credit of establishing the identity of Hutton's 

 A. ruficoia with Loriol's S. suteri, which had been fully described by Farquhar under 

 the name S. littoralis, in ignorance of Loriol's account. Farquhar's description is 

 illustrated by a good figure. 



This species has not been hitherto recorded from these subantarctic islands ; 

 but amongst material collected some years ago by Mr. A. Hamilton at the Mac- 

 quarie Island I find a small specimen which I believe belongs to this species, though 

 it may turn out to be distinct from it. 



Diinensions. — R, 8 mm. ; r, 3-5 mm. ; breadth of arm at base, 3-5 mm. ; height, 

 2 mm. 



It has six rays, which are flat (? or artificially flattened), and rounded at the 

 ends, covered with small round-topped spines of the characteristic form. Each 

 spine has a rounded top, with radiating ridges and grooves passing from its sum- 

 mit, precisely as is figured by Loriol. But these spines do not exhibit that regu- 

 larity of arrangement that exists in the typical individuals of the species which 

 I have seen. There is no distinct median or lateral rows, though they are much 

 more densely aggregated down the middle of the arm ; and the transverse disposi- 

 tion is not perceptible. 



On the removal of the spines the plates are seen to be much coarser and the 

 meshes smaller and less definitely arranged ; the appearance of the skeleton is rather 

 " tesselated " than imbricated. 



The marginals are well developed, and bear two long obliquely set spines. The 

 adambulacral armature resembles that of S. svieri. Owing to the flattening which 

 the specimen has apparently undergone, the ambulacral groove is more " petaloid " 

 than is usual for the species. 



Locality. — Macquarie Island (A. Hamilton, 1894). 



Distribution. — New Zealand (South Island, Stewart Island). 



Stichaster suteri, var. laevigatus, Hutton. 



1879. Asterias rupicola, var. laevigatus, Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst., xi, p. 343. 

 1898. Stichaster suteri, var. laevigatus, Farquhar, Trans. N.Z. Inst., xxx, 

 p. 189. 



This is very common on the stony beaches of the harbours of the Auckland 

 and Campbell Islands. Although usually of small size when occurring between 

 tide-marks, attaining a radius of 25-36 mm., I found on the face of rocks dipping 

 straight down into deepish water both on the southern face of Masked Island and 

 at the landing-place of our camp, which faced towards the island, some much larger 

 specimens, in which R = 50 mm. These were obtained at specially low spring tide. 



