64 
exclude the possibility of a confusion with A. chiajei which has 
already at a size corresponding to that of A. florifera 4—5 arm¬ 
spines, a difference which Forbes could scarcely be supposed to 
have overlooked. Also the fig. 10 of Forbes’ paper, giving the 
underside of the arm of florifera , in all its imperfectness seems 
to show that it could not be a young specimen of A. Chiajei. 1 
cannot, therefore, agree with the authors who make A. florifera 
simply a synonym of A. Chiajei. 
On the other hånd, I do not see that M a r e n z e 11 e r has given 
an undisputable proof that Forbes’ Amph. florifera is identical 
with Ljungman’s A. norvegica. I would point out two facts, which 
are at variance with such identification. First, the primary plates 
of the disk are by no means so conspicuous in norvegica and do 
not lie so close together as shown by Forbes; they are very 
distinctly separated from the central plate by several small scales. 
It is also hardly conceivable that Forbes could have represented 
the characteristic rhombic figure of the radial shields of norvegica 
so poorly (Fig. 13). More weight I would, however, ascribe to the 
mouth shield (the „ovarian“ or „genital“ plate, as it is designated 
by Forbes). He States that to be trilobed in florifera and shows 
that in his fig. 12. This does not at all agree with A. norvegica. 
The faet being thus that there are such specially noted characters 
of florifera which do not agree with norvegica , it must be re- 
garded as doubtful that florifera is really identical with norvegica , 
and there is then really no necessity for taking the undesirable 
step of changing the commonly used name of the species so well 
described by Lj ungman. 
It may be mentioned here that I have found on some spec- 
imens from the Trondhjemsfjord a small organism attached to the 
underside of the disk and arms, which appears to be a Loxosoma. 
I have observed it later on also on some specimens from Manger- 
fjord, near Bergen, received from Prof. Brinkmann, dredged in 
March 1920. 
9. Ophiura texturata Lamarck. 
The faet that H. L. Clark in his „Catalogue of Recent Ophi- 
urans“ (p. 323) has identified this species with the „ Asterias ophi- 
ura u of Linnæus, naming it Ophiura ophiura (Linn.) makes it 
