No. 495] 



NOTES AND LITERATURE 



2< >f) 



Dr. Doderlein, but from the west central Atlantic; moreover, it 

 was first described by Wyville Thomson, and not by Carpenter; 

 also I. wyville-thomsoni was first described by Wyville-Thomson, 

 Jeffries 's mention of the name being in both cases a pure 

 nomen nudum. 



The discussion of Metacrinus is appropriately begun with an 

 account of the infrabasals of M. acutus, which are compared to 

 those of Millericrinus polydactylus. Then follow paragraphs on 

 the specific characters of the genus found in the calyx, the arms, 

 and the stem, which last is believed to furnish the most reliable 

 characters. In this conclusion I heartily concur. The stems are 

 considered at some length, and there is an interesting account of 

 the stem growth, a subject which I shall discuss at some length 

 later. Dr. Doderlein believes that, when living on the sea- 

 bottom, the species of Metacrinus have very long stems, which are 

 inextricably entangled one with another, forming a sort of mesh- 

 work, from which the younger part of the stem and the crowns 

 stand out; in other words, that the individuals form a sort of 

 crinoid colony, the crowns arising from a maze of stems, and he 

 adduces considerable strong evidence in support of this view. It 

 will interest him to know that I have additional evidence pointing 

 to the same conclusion. 



The species of Metacrinus obtained by the Siboga all fall into 

 that division of the genus in which there are "five radials," 

 two of which are united by syzygy: three new species, M. acutus, 

 M. serratus and M. suluensis, and a new variety, M. nobilis 

 timorensis, are described, while that somewhat unhappy word 

 typica is used'to denote the typical forms of 31. nobilis and M. 

 superbus. M. acutus comes from the Ki Islands, and 31. serratus 

 and M. suluensis were found in the Sulu Archipelago. M. nobilis 



latus, previously known t'n.m the Ki Islands and the Arafura 

 Sea, was rediscovered at the Ki Islands and at Timor: M. vari- 

 ant, from the Kermadec and Meangis Islands, was found 

 at Timor, the Ki Islands, and in the Sulu Archipelago; 

 and a varietal (unnamed) form of 31. superbus was col- 

 lected at the Ki Islands. Metacrinus nobilis is divided into 

 three varieties, typica. murrayi and limorcnsis. with somewhat 

 unfortunate nomenclatorial results: for the specific name murrayi 

 of Carpenter has precedence over nobilis of the same author. 

 Expressing these names as trinomials, we have Metacrinus mur- 



