54 



Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society. 



papillated, and with the ambulacral groves running as narrow red lines 

 out to the angles. On the aboral surface there are short red spines on 

 the well-marked lobed areas, while the surface between has a fine fluffy or 

 velvet-like appearance." 



Locality. — Station IX., Matemo Island. 



Previously recorded from — Red Sea ; Dar-es-Salaam ; Zanzibar ; Mozam- 

 bique; Madagascar; Mauritius; Ceylon; Andaman Is.; and Amboiua. 



Culcita sp.? 



This large starfish, popularly known as the "leather bun," is almost 

 universally distributed along the coast, though not in such abundance as 

 Pentaceros. The following notes may show the protean nature of the colour 

 schemes in this wonderful genus. It is difficult to say if one or more species 

 are here represented, but the former is more probable. These varieties are, 

 at any rate, discernible : — 



A. With black tubercles and scattered soft poriferous areas. 



Ground, yellow, . . . Areas, grey. 

 blue, 



bright yellow, 

 salmon-pink, 

 light grey, 

 bright yellow, 

 grey, 



brown. 



greenish-brown. 



yellow. 



dark grey. 



yellowish-brown. 



dark brown. 



B. With tubercles but no different coloured poriferous areas. 



Tubercles black, with the general tone yellow, orange-yellow, 

 brown, or pink. 



C. With coloured poriferous areas but no tubercles. 



Ground, yellow, . . . Areas, brown, 

 blue, ... „ grey. 



,, salmon-pink, . . ,, brown. 



One specimen was entirely red. 



These notes show the extraordinary variability in colour of the highly 

 coloured Asteroids, a fact very often overlooked by the cabinet zoologist, but 

 well known to every field naturalist. This is evidence how little, if 

 any, reliance can be placed on colour as a specific character. 



