745 



THE RECENT CUINOIDS OF AUSTRALIA — CLARK. -?^>^ 



Dijferenticd Cliaracters. — Tliis is a more slender and usually 

 smaller species than C. Solaris, and the ciiri rarely have mora 

 than fifteen segments, those of C. Solaris possessing eighteen or 

 over. The arms may taper evenly from the base to the tip, or 

 they may be somewhat swollen proxiraally, this, however, rarely 

 being carried to the extreme commonly seen in C. Solaris. The 

 segments of tlie genital pinnules of C. pectinata are longer and 

 less broadened than tliose of C. Solaris. 



The ossicles of the I Br series an J the first two brachials in 

 C. Solaris are always, so far as I have seen, united by a peculiar 

 articulation which ^ery closely resembles a syzygy, but which is- 

 derived from a synarthry ; it is called a pseudosyzygy. These 

 segments in (J. pectinata may be united either by pseudosyzygy 

 or by a more or less unmodified synarthry. 



The diffei'ence in length between the grooved anterior and the 

 ungrooved posterior arms reaches a maximum in this species, the 

 latter being sometimes scarcely one-third the length of the 

 former. The restriction of the ambulacra also is sometimes 

 carried to an extreme as in the much smaller C. micraster, four 

 arms being grooved and six ungrooved. 



Comatula pectinata frequently occurs with eleven arms, some- 

 times with twelve; C. Solaris, G. pur-picrea, and C. micraster have 

 never been found with more than ten. 



Specimens in the Auslraliaii Museum Collection. — Albany 

 Passage — One fine specimen with cirri xix, 14-15, 10-12 mm. 

 long. Port Molle — One small specimen. Port Jackson — One 

 specimen with arms 100 mm. long, somewhat swollen basally, and 

 cirri xvi, 11-13, 10 mm. long. No locality — Three lai'ge specimens. 



Additional Australian Records. — Thursday' Island, littoral, and 

 in 4-6 i'atiioms ; Arafura Sea; Warrior Reef, Torres Strait; 

 Basset-Smith Bank, in 9 fathoms ; Prince of Wales Channel, in 

 7 fathoms; Port Curtis, littoral, and down to 11 fathoms; Port 

 Molle, in 14 fathoms; Dundas Strait, in 17 fathoms; North- 

 western Australia ; Cape York ; between Albany and Somerset 

 Islands; Fitzroy Lsland; Cooktovvn ; Holothuria Bank, in 24-34 

 fathoms; northern side of Holothuria Bank, in 36 fathoms; 

 near Cape Voltaire (14' 50' S. lat., 125° 40' E. long.); Baudin 

 Lsland, littoral, and in 8-15 fathoms. 



Range. — Singapore and the Philippine Islands southward to 

 Australia, reaching on the east coast, Port Jackson, N. S. Wales. 



Remarks. — At Singapore it is not uncommon to find specimens 

 of this species with eleven arms, and a few have even been 

 recorded with twelve ; two of the specimens from Holothuria 

 Bank also have eleven arms, but no other examples are known 

 from Australia with more tlian ten. Tliere are never more than 

 ten arms in the stont phase. 



