WEST INDIAN STARFISHES 



51 



LoPHASTER RADIANS Perrier. 



Korethraster radians Perrier, Bull. Mus, Conip. ZooL, vol. ix, p. 12, 1881. 

 Korethraster hispidus Perrier, Etoiles de Mer, p. 212, pi. vi, figs. 9-11, 



1884 {nail W. Thompson). 

 JSolaster radians Perrier, Etoiles de Mer, p. 275 (in. explanation of plates), 



pi. vi, figs. 9, 10, 11, ISSi. 

 Lophaster radians Perrier, op. cit., pp. 167-170 (in lists of species), 1884. 

 Korethraster? radians Sladen, op. cit., p. 459 (footnote), 796, 1889. 



Plate V ; fi^re 2. Plate vii ; figure 3. Plate xi ; figures 1 — Ic. 



Form stellate with a rather broad convex disk and short sub- 

 acute rays. Kadii of the largest (sta. 64), 17°™ and 40°^™; jratio, 

 1 :2.4. It occurs with four to six rays, usually five. The dorsal 

 skeleton is rather openly reticulated with large quadrangular 

 papular areas and numerous large grouped papulae. 



The pseudopaxillae are rather large and high, with an enlarged 

 convex summit, which is covered ^vith nimierous (often forty to 

 fifty) very slender, divergent, thorny spinules; those of the mar- 

 ginal fringe are longer and interlock across the spaces interven- 

 ing between the plates. The spinules are hyaline and often 

 forked at the tip, and diverge in all directions. 



On the rays there is no evident median series, nor do the plates 

 form many regular transversely oblique rows on the sides. The 

 bases of the plates are mostly deeply four-lobed or substellate. 

 Their arrangement is evidently in radial rows. 



The two marginal rows of plates are very evident and pretty 

 regular, and nearly opposite. The upper ones are rounded and 

 very similar to the larger dorsals, and higher than the adjacent 

 lateral ones. The inferomarginals are high, elliptical and nearly 

 twice as large with a correspondingly larger number of terminal 

 rough spinules on the convex summit. 



There is a row of small peractinal plates, extending to about 

 the distal fourth of the rays, and a few other interactinal ones 

 on the small interradial areas. These have very slender, thorny 

 spinules. 



The adambulacral plates have a prominent convex inner mar- 

 gin, which bears a regular compact row of four or five long, 

 slender, thorny, subhyaline furrow-spines, the middle ones long- 

 est. Their actinal surface bears a row usually of three or four 

 similar rough spinules, but rather stouter. In this dry specimen 

 there is no very evident web between these spines, except near 



