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THE AMERICAN NATURALIST [Vol. XLIII 



anthoides, which ranges from California to middle Alaska 

 (Yakutat, etc.), has, when adult, twenty to twenty-four 

 rays. It begins life as a five-rayed or six-rayed star, but 

 acquires new rays, by budding in new rays, a pair at a 

 time, symmetrically and side by side in succession. This 

 process is not known to occur in any other starfish, except 

 in Labidiaster, which is an Antarctic genus of the family 

 Brisingidae. Several peculiar Antarctic starfishes seem 

 to be allied to north Pacific forms. 



But even those species of Asterias, etc., that are ordina- 

 rily five-rayed, occur not very rarely with six rays, 7 and 

 the six-rayed species may occur with five rays (see note, 

 teratology). In other families the same peculiarity is 



•See Professor W. E. Bitter and G. R. Crocker (Proc. Washington 

 Acad. Sci., Vol. II, pp. 247-274, 1900), who give a good account of the 



some in which there wen- fiv primary ray., and a few in which some new 

 rays were produced, also, at irregular places, but this is unusual. ^ 



New England species, A. F,,rh,s,i. Jar Vu Ilav. n. Cm.... which have four 

 rays and six rays, and some that have seven, eight and even nine rays, by 

 examining many thousands. About 1 in 2,000 has six rays; 1 in abou 

 3,000 is four-rayed; 1 in about 10,000 is seven- or eight-rayed, at tins time 



repairs of injuries received in early life, with development of extra »y» 

 (See H. I. King, "Regeneration in Asteria* vulgaris'' Arch. f -" t "' l, ' k ^ 

 Organ., IX, pp. 724-730, 1900). But this is evidently not the case *i 



