68 A. E. Verrill — New Genera and Species of Starfishes. 



Asterias polythela Ver., sp. nov. 



Rays six, stout, of moderate length, rounded and with a 

 firm skeleton. Radii 20 and 80 mm ; ratios, 1 : 4. 



Dorsal surface appears rough and rugged. It bears an 

 irregular number of large, stout, round spines, arranged with- 

 out order, except that in a few places two or three may stand 

 in a median series ; elsewhere they may be grouped, 2 to 5, 

 near together, or stand singly. These spines stand on raised 

 central bosses of the plates ; they are constricted somewhat at 

 base and then abruptly enlarged below the middle ; the termi- 

 nal part is regularly tapered or somewhat acorn -shaped or nip- 

 ple-shaped, longitudinally finely grooved, ending in a blunt 

 apex. They are 2 to 4 mm high and 1*5 to 2 mm in diameter. 

 Scattered over the whole surface are many small, unequal, short, 

 acorn-shaped and capitate spines, mostly from 2 to , 4 mm in 

 diameter. The large and small spines are all surrounded by 

 close wreaths of small minor pedicellarise ; clusters of these are 

 also attached to the skin, so that the surface appears to be 

 almost covered with them. 



The marginal and actinal rows of spines are pretty regular 

 and smaller than the dorsals. The upper marginals stand 

 mostly one to a plate proximally and two to a plate distally. 

 They are shaped somewhat like the large dorsals and nearly as 

 long, but only about half as thick. The lower marginals are 

 about as long, but stouter ; they stand either one or two to a 

 plate. A short row of smaller spines is interpolated between 

 the upper and lower marginals proximally. The peractinal 

 spines are like the lower marginals proximally and form a 

 regular, row, one to a plate. The adambulacral spines are 

 small, round, blunt, mostly two to a plate, sometimes one in 

 certain parts, divergent and almost concealed by large clusters 

 of small, ovate, major pedicellarise on the inner ones, and 

 clusters of major pedicellarise on the outer ones ; many large 

 clusters of major pedicellarise are attached to the inner edge 

 of the plates within the furrow. A few much larger, blunt- 

 ovate, major pedicellarise with finely denticulate jaws, occur 

 on the interradial spaces and between the proximal marginal 

 spines. 



The type was taken off the Arctic coast of Alaska by the 

 U. S. R. S. "Corwin" in 1885, No. 16889 (U. S. Nat. Mus., 

 No. 15820). 



Asterias victoriana Verrill, sp. nov. 



The type of this species is from near Victoria, British 

 Columbia, sent by Mr. Newcombe. Radii, 20 and 95 mm ; 

 ratios, 1 : 4*75. Rays five, stout, rather rapidly tapered. Dorsal 



