Veerill. — Descnptions of new Star-fishes from Netv Zealand. 281 



others of similar form not half as large. Those in the ambulacral furrows 

 are even longer, but more acutely pointed. The madreporic plates are 

 variable in number and size as well as in position. One appears to be 

 always in its normal position and near the edge of the disk, while the 

 accessory ones are introduced at various points around the disk, but at 

 about the same distance from the margin. Sometimes, when there are but 

 two and the rays are in even numbers, they are directly opposite and in the 

 same transverse plane. A specimen with eleven rays has two contiguous 

 ones and another separated by fom* rays, each being composed of several 

 pieces united. One s^Decimen has but one large convex madreporic plate. 



The largest specimen is 7*5 inches in diameter across the rays, with a 

 disk 1-25 inch in diameter ; rays, '5 inch broad ; inter-ambulacral spines, 

 •15 inch long. 



Auckland, New Zealand. — H. Edwaeds. 



ASTERINA (ASTEEISEUS) REGULARIS, VerriU. 



Pentagonal, depressed, with the inter-radial spaces evenly concave, and 

 the rays short, broad and acute; greatest radius to least as 15 : 10. Ambu- 

 lacral pores large ; inter-ambulacral plates each with two slender acute spines, 

 forming a single row. Those near the mouth larger, obtuse, and flattened. 

 Ventral plates of the first row stout and prominent, each bearing a conical, 

 acute spine, twice as large as the preceding. Exterior to these the ventral 

 or inter-radial plates are flattened or imbricated, diminishing in size as they 

 recede from the centre, each bearing an acute conical spine ; these diminish 

 in size hke the plates, the larger ones being about as thick as the mter- 

 ambulacral spines, but shorter ; near the margin these spines become very 

 small and crowded, many of the plates bearing two. Plates of the upper 

 surface rather large, increasing towards the centre, regularly imbricated, 

 the fi'ee margin evenly rounded and thin, bearing near the end a cluster of 

 five to nine very small, nearly equal spines ; towards the centre the plates 

 become less regular m form and unequal in size, the larger ones often 

 bearing twelve or fourteen spines in a transverse cluster. Madreporic plate 

 large and prominent, at about one-third of the distance from the centre to 

 the margin. The large dorsal pores are in groups on the sides and within 

 the bases of the rays, arranged in about four rows, which run parallel with 

 the median line of the rays, with from six to twelve pores in a row. A few 

 irregularly arranged pores between adjacent rays connect these groups. 



Colour, when di-ied, dark olive green above, yellow below. From centre 

 to end of ray, 1*5 inches ; to edge of disk, 'S. 



Auckland, New Zealand. — H. Edwaeds. 

 AsTEOPECTEN EDWAEDSii, Verrill, 



Eays five, long, regularly tapering, acute, about fom'-and-a-half times 

 as long as the radius of the disc. Ambulacra broad, inter-ambulacral plates 



29 



