No. 497] 



NOTES AND LITERATURE 



351 



Species of Crinoid (Ptilocri mis pimuitus) from the Pacific Coast, 

 with a Note on Bathycrinus," 2 in which another remarkable 

 genus of stalked crinoids is described and flmiivd, and there is 

 a discussion of some of the specific names used in Batlm-rinus. 

 The new genus is considered to be related to the interesting Cal- 

 amocrinus which the "Albatross" collected some years ago near 

 the Galapagos Islands. 



A paper on "Crinoids of the Genus Eudiocrinus from Japan" 3 

 bears the same date as the two preceding. Eudiocrinus is a 

 genus of free-swimming crinoids (comatulids) remarkable for 

 having united radials, but only five arms. Two species were 

 found to be common along the southern coast of Japan, and three 

 specimens of a third, which is described as new, were also taken 

 by the "Albatross." A summary of the genus, with a synonymy 

 of its seven species and statements of the type-localities closes 

 the paper. Two papers dealing with "New Species of Recent 

 Unstalked Crinoids" 4 appeared in September and give us a 

 little insight into the extraordinary wealth of material which 

 the "Albatross" collected, for we have here descriptions of no 

 less than 55 new species, of which 52 belong to the genus Ante- 

 don as used by previous writers. Mr. Clark points out that the 

 commonly used generic name Actinometra is untenable, being a 

 pure synonym of Lamarck's older name Comatula. As the free- 

 swimming crinoids are now so commonly called comatulids, it is 

 not an unwelcome discovery which thus rehabilitates Comatula. 

 Free use is made of artificial keys in these papers, although their 

 usefulness is impaired by their doubtless necessary limitation to 

 the new species and two or three most nearly related forms. 

 There is plain intimation that Carpenter's "groups" of the 

 genus Antedon are not in all cases natural or satisfactory divi- 

 sions and that a rearrangement of the species is necessary. 



In his next paper, "New Genera of Recent Free Crinoids." 5 

 Mr. Clark attacks this problem and shatters the old genus Ante- 

 don into eighteen fragments, entirely discarding the group ar- 

 rangement of Carpenter. At first thought this seems like need- 

 lessly drastic treatment, but the more one studies Mr. Clark's 

 reasons and results, the more satisfied one becomes that such 

 treatment is unavoidable if we are to get at the true interrelation- 



2 Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 32, pp. 551-554. 



*Proc. V. S. Nat. Mus., 32, pp. 569-574. 



*Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., 33, pp. 69-84 and 127-156. 



'Smith. Misc. Coll., 50, pp. 343-364. 



