RECORDS OF W.A. MUSEUM. 
[139 
NECTRIA OCELLIFERA. 
Asterias ocellifera, Lamarck, 1915. Anim. s. Vert. vol. 2 p. 553. 
Nectria ocellifera,. Gray, 1840. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. vol. 6, p. 287. (ocnlifera lap. 
cal.) 
The number of species in the genus Nectria has for many years 
been a matter of dispute. Perrier first called attention to the 
differences between the original specimens at Paris and the speci- 
mens in the British Museum. He ^ was sure they represented two 
different species and suspected that there was possible a third in the 
Paris Museum. Sladen, ^ however, on the basis of the Challen- 
ger material was inclined to think that there was only a single 
species, the differences to which Perrier called attention not being 
of specific value. Fisher, in a recent discussion of the genus, 
points out that the material in the M.C.Z. collection indicates the 
existence of two species. Very recently the M.C.Z. has received 
from Mr. Joseph Gabriel some well preserved specimens of Nectria 
from Victoria, and these, on comparison with two specimens from 
West Australia in the present collection, enable me to throw some 
light on the question. 
The West Australian specimens are essentially alike except 
that one has six rays, and is somewhat smaller than the 
other. These specimens agree well with Perrier’s description of 
ocellifera and I feel little hesitation in referring them to that species. 
The specimens from Victoria, on the other hand are obviously dif- 
ferent and seem to agree very well with Perrier’s description of his 
species ocellata which was based on Gray’s specimen in the British 
Museum. As all my specimens are well-grown and of approxi- 
mately the same size, it is clear that the differences are not in any 
way to be correlated with age, and I believe both species are fully 
entitled to recognition. The most striking difference between them 
is in the appearance of the dorsal paxilliform ossicles ; in ocellifera 
the top of each ossicle is covered by a group of 10-30 flat, irregularly 
polygonal, well-spaced granules, surrounded by a marginal crown of 
10-25 large spaced, flaring flattened scale-like projections; in ocellata 
the top of each ossicle is much smaller and bears 10-30 rounded, 
well-spaced hemispherical grains, surrounded by a crowded series of 
1 C. Perrier, 1876. Arch. Zool. Exp. vol. 5, pp. 1-6. 
2 W. P. Sladen, 1889. C/irtl/sng'rr Asteroids, pp. 318-321. 
3 W. K. Fisher, 1911. Bull. U.S. Nat. Mus., No. 76, pp. 163, 164. 
