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When Eschscholtz in 1829 established the genus Synapta, 

 he referred the following four species: Hoi. reciprocans and vittata 

 Forskâl, Hoi. maculata Chamisso & Eysenhardt and Synapta mam- 

 millosa Eschscholtz to the genus, the latter being described as a 

 new species. The description of mammillosa is, however, so in- 

 sufficient and the figure given of it so poor that it is hardly possible 

 to recognize the species, and nobody ever meant to do so. There- 

 fore it will be very unpractical to make this species the genotype. 

 Of the three other species neither reciprocans nor vittata can come 

 into consideration as genotypes. Reciprocans belongs to the later 

 established genus Synaptula 0rsted, and vittata is so insufficiently 

 described that we must — with Clark — regard it as irrecog- 

 nizable. The fourth and last of the species mentioned by Esch- 

 scholtz, maculata, is, though poorly described, so well figured 

 that it is easily recognized in the collection at hand, wherefore I 

 deem it the most reasonable to make maculata the genotype for 

 Synapta — as done by Clark in "The Apod. Holoth." 



To the genus Synapta belong for the present only two species: 

 maculata, the genotype, and oceanica (Lesson). Of the elder species 

 which Clark refers to maculata as synomyns 5. beselii Jäger 

 is not sufficiently described; and it is not possible to see to 

 which genus it really belongs, the characters mentioned, suiting to 

 Opheodesoma and Euapta as well as to Synapta. It is only certain 

 that it is not synonymous with any of the two said species of Syn- 

 apta. The statement "Tentaculorum 7 lineas longorum pinnae in 

 basi membrana iunctae sunt" shows that it cannot be referred to 

 maculata which has no membrane between the digits, and the dark 

 rings seen on the figure separate it decidedly from oceanica, which 

 is distinctly striped and quite without dark rings. Another thing 

 is that the specimens, which Held, Semper, Théel and other 

 authors have identified as 5. beselii Jäger, evidently must be referred 

 to the genus Synapta, and judging from the figures, to 5. maculata. 

 The same also holds good of Held's species astrolabi. This species 

 is established only on the calcareous deposits, nothing being said 

 about the other characters of the specimen, nor the locality. Held 

 states that astrolabi mainly differs from his specimen of beselii 

 (= maculata) in the size of the anchors, though the anchor-plates 

 are of equal size. This difference is not larger than it may be 



