1000 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
westward in latitude 10° north, along with a south-flowing current from the coast of 
North America. The currents which pass the Hawaiian Islands are consequent^ 
flowing westward and are derived from the counter-equatorial current and from 
North America. A branch of the Kuro Siwo sets southeastward from north latitude 
35° to 40° toward the Hawaiian Islands, but apparently does not reach them. 
During the southeast monsoon the currents are nearly reversed in the Indian 
Ocean, a stream (42 to 66 knots per 24 hours) setting directly eastward from the 
Seychelles, south latitude 5°, to the coast of Sumatra, but there is a west current 
in Sunda Strait and an eastward current along the north coast of Java. 
Consequently if we think of the Indian Ocean as the center of dispersal for this 
fauna, about the only conceivable way in which the species could reach the Hawaiian 
Islands is by means of the counter equatorial, which is an insignificant stream 
when compared with the great west flowing equatorial. Yet all the currents setting 
from America have sufficed to bring only five species and these are by no means 
cleared of doubt. 
Of course there is no a priori reason for considering the Indian the original 
fauna. The center of dispersal may have been farther eastward. In the case of 
Valvaster striatus it is a long cry from Mauritius to Hawaii, with no intermediate 
records. The similarity of such a rare type as the Calliderma of Japan with that 
of Hawaii is interesting. The genus, being an old one, is probably widespread, 
and a number of intermediate forms may remain to be discovered. If the Philippine 
group and a number of others along the path of the principal ocean currents were 
as thoroughly worked as the Hawaiian Islands, we would have a far more satisfactory 
basis for comparison. The Challenger made at most but 20 hauls in which 
starfish were captured, in the Eastern Archipelago, while in the limited area of the 
Hawaiian Islands the Albatross made 123. The results of the Siboga expedition 
may be looked forward to with interest. 
Certain Hawaiian species show relationships with Atlantic forms, others with 
Australian and southern South American species. These are detailed in the following 
table: 
Species peculiar to the Hawaiian Islands and the apparently nearest relatives of those species ( other than Indian 
Ocean and Eastern forms. ) 
Hawaiian species. 
Related species. 
South Pacific. 
Southern 
ocean. 
Atlantic. 
Astropecten ctenophorus 
Psilaster attenuatus 
Psilasteropsis cingulata 
Cheiraster inops 
Pseudarchaster myobrachius 
Pseudarchaster jordani 
Tosia ceramoidea 
Anseropoda insignis 
Henricia robusta 
Henricia pauperrima 
Pteraster reticulatus 
Astropecten pectinatus 
Psilaster acuminatus 
Psilasteropsis patagiatus . . 
Cheiraster planeta 
Pseudarchaster tessellatus. 
Southeast of Austra- 
lia; Port Philip. 
East of Australia; west 
of New Zealand. 
West of South Amer- 
ica (entrance to 
Straits of Magellan ) . 
do 
Tosia nitida; Tosia compta. ... 
Anseropoda placenta 
Cribrella obesa 
Cribrella compact'a 
Pteraster semireticulatus. 
Off New Zealand 
Off Clarion 
Island. 
Simons Bay, Cape of Good 
Hope. 
Off Cape'Verde Islands. 
Simons Bay, Cape of Good 
Hope. 
Do. 
West Indies. 
Coast of Europe. 
Falkland Islands, Straits 
of Magellan. 
Hymenaster pentagonalis . . . 
Hymenaster carnosus 
West of South America 
