358 1>R MURRAY ON THE DEEP AND SHALLOW-WATER MARINE FAUNA 



*Antedon abyssorum, Carpenter. 



* ,, hisiyinosa,^ Carpenter. 



* ,, remota, Carpenter. 



BatJnjcrinus '^ aldrichiamcs, Wyville, Thomson. 



Hyocrinus hethellianus, Wyville Thomson. 

 * Promachocrimis abyssorum, Carpenter. 

 * Thaumatocrinus rcnovatus, Carpenter. 



ASTEROIDEA : 



'*Brisinga discincta, Sladen. 



* „ memhranacea, Sladen. 

 *Chitonaster cataphractus, Sladen. 

 * Freyella^ fragilissima, Sladen. 



* Hymenaster * ccelatus, Sladen. 



* ,, coccinatus, Sladen 



of its calyx, for it is the unly Coinatula yet found at a greater deptli than 2000 fathoms. Bathycriiius, and perliaps 

 also Hyocrinus, extend down to 2400 fathoms ; Promachocrimis and Thaumatocrinus occur at 1800 fathoms, but with 

 the exception of Antedon ahyssicola, no other Comatuhe have been found below 1600 fathoms, at which depth (Station 

 147) Antedon abyssortim, Antedon hispinosa, and Antedun remota were obtained. Antedo7i ahyssicola has been dredged, 

 however, at two Stations, one (Station 160) shortly before the Cliallenger reached Melliourne, where the depth was 

 2600 fathoms, and the other in the deepest part of the North Pacific at 2900 fathoms (Station 244). Antedon ahyssicola 

 thus resembles Antedon alternata in occurring at widely separated localities in the abyssal region, and it has some points 

 of resemblance with the younger individuals of this type. — (Carpenter, Zool. Chall. Exp., part 60, pp. 191-2.) 



' Antedon hispinosa has such very definite characters that it is not likely to be confounded with any other. The 

 spiny calyx and the double row of long hook-like spines along the arms distinguish it very clearly. ... It is 

 rather a rolrast species for such a considerable depth (1600 fathoms). But the sacculi are poorly developed, as is so 

 often the case in the abyssal Comatul;i3. — (Carpenter, Zool. Chall. Exp., part 60, p. 116.) 



- Bathycrinus ranges through a greater number of degrees of latitude than any other stalked Crinoid, even lihixo- 

 crinus ; and it is only surpassed in this respect by the ubiquitous Antedon. Bathycrinus carpenteri was found by the 

 Norwegian North Sea Expedition as far north as 65° 55' N. lat. ; while Bathycriiius aldrichianus was twice met with 

 by the Challenger in the Southern Ocean beyond the parallel of 46° S. lat. In the intervening Atlantic Ocean have 

 been found Bathycrinus (jracilis (Bay of Biscay) and Bathycrinus camphcllianns (just north of the equator) ; while other 

 examples of the genus were dredged by the "Talisman" in the Atlantic at a depth of from 2000 to 2380 metres (1200 

 fathoms). It is distinctly an abyssal type, ranging from 1050 to 2435 fathoms. The only Crinoids which have 

 been found at greater depths than the latter are two species of Antedon. — (Carpenter, Zool. Chall. Exp., part 32, 

 p. 237.) 



- As now classified the species [of the genus Freyella] present a remarkable similarity of general facies, and the 

 comparatively small amount of morphological plasticity exhibited by the genus is extraordinary, considering tlie wide 

 geographical area over which it is distributed. The bathyraetrical range is also remarkable, extending from the 

 commencement of the continental zone to the greatest depth at which starfishes have been found. — (Sladen, Zool. 

 Chall. Exp., part 51, p. 615.) 



* The dredgings of the Challenger Expedition have now shown that Hymenaster possesses a world-wide distri- 

 bution in deep waters, and that the genus exhiliits a remarkable amount of morphological plasticity, no less than 

 twenty-four species being now known. The bathymetrical range of the genus is also remarkable, as, with the 

 exception of the type form (Hymenaster pellucidus), which ranges from 70 to 1539 I'athoms, all the species are confined 

 to the abyssal zone. One, Hymenaster infernalis, extends to 2900 fathoms, the greatest depth at which starfishes have 

 hitherto been found ; and four other species occur in depths greater than 2000 fathoms. . . . The general facies of 

 the type appears to be one of great antiquity. This, however, is not the place to discuss, as I should desire, the archaic 

 relationships of existing Asterids ; and I would therefore now only briefly direct attention to the remarkable resem- 

 blance and, in many respects, apparent similarity of general character, which exist between Hymenaster and the recently 

 described Loriolaster of Stijrtz from the Lower Devonian slates of Bundenbach. — (Sladen, Zool. Chall. Exp., part 51, 

 p. 492.) 



