three Exotic Starfishes. 27 



associate the name of Liitken, and not Linnaeus, with the 

 species under discussion. But if we do this we come at once 

 into contact and opposition with the views of Dr. Liitken 

 himself, who (Vid. Medd. 1864, p. 161) replaces 0. clavatus, 

 M. & Tr., by 0. dorsatus, L., A. dorsata being one of the 

 three species of Asterias mentioned in the Mus. Tessin. 



Dr. Liitken has done so much for our knowledge of Echino- 

 derras, and has treated questions of nomenclature in so 

 reasonable a manner, that I am sorry to appear to disagree 

 ^vith him ; but I think we are exchanging firm ground for 

 shifting sands if we budge from 1758 as the year from which 

 binominal appellations are to begin. 



Those who accept this view will write the synonymy of the 

 two species thus : — 



Ooniodiscus articulatus. 



Goninster aHiculatus, Liitken (ex Liun. Mus. Tessin. (1753), p. 114), 



Vid. Medd. 1864, p. 147. 

 Asterias aranciaca, Liim. Syst. Nat. 1758, p. 662 (pars). 

 Goniocliscus sehce, M. & Tr. Syst. Ast. (1842), p. 58 : Perrier, Arch. 



zool. exp. V. (1876), p. 46 (pars). 

 Goniodiscus articulattis, de Loriol, Rec. Zool. Suiss. i. (1884), p. 6.38. 



Pentaceros clavatus. 



Asterias tiodosa^ Linn. Syst. Nat. 1758, p. 661 (pars). 



Oreaster clavatus, M. & Tr. Syst. Ast. (1842), p. 49. 



Oreaster dorsatus, Liitk. (ex Linn. Mus. Tessin. (1753), p. 114), Vid. 



Medd. 1864, p. 161 ; BeU, P. Z. S. 1884, p. 77. 

 Pentaceros dorsatus, Perrier, Arch. zool. exp. v. (1876), p. 61. 



A Phantom Species. 

 ^^Goniodiscus gracilis^ Gray." 



This is one of the most curious inventions I have ever met 

 with. The hare seems to have been started by Dr. von 

 Martens, who (Arch. f. Nat. 1866, p. 86) writes : — 



" c. Randasia, Gray. 



^'Goniaster Luzonicus, Gray, Ann. mag. n. h. vi., 1841. 



Pliilippines. ^r-' 

 " Goniaster gracilis, Gray, Ann. mag. n. h. vi., 1841. Ter- 



nate (Molukken)." 



A reference to tlic volume cited — it is of some significance 

 that Dr. von ALirtens gives no page — shows that the last two 

 lines of this quotation are not to be found either following 

 the reference to Randasia luzonica (p. 278), or, indeed, in 



