128 
The species Ophiactis hiria being until now known with cert- 
ainty only from olf the coast of N. S. Wales through the single 
specimen collected by the “Challenger", it is very satisfactory that 
it has now been demonstrated to occur also in the Cook Strait. 
The statement of its occurrence in the Atlantic (Koehler. Echin- 
odermes. Res. Campagnes Scientif. Monaco. Fase. XXXIV^ 1909. 
p. 171) probably refers to a specimen of Ophiactis nidarosiensis 
Mrtsn. (Comp. Th. Mortensen. Notes on some Scandinav. Echi- 
noderms. Vid. Medd. Dansk Naturh. Foren. Bd. 72. 1920. p. 62). 
That this latter species is closely related to O. hirta seems beyond 
doubt; there is, however, a very marked difference in the shape 
of the mouth shields, and also the shape of the ventral plates is 
somewhat different. These characters, added to the faet that O. 
nidarosiensis is selfdividing, while O. hirta, according to the scanty 
evidence at hånd, is not so, and to the faet of one being known 
with certainty only from the Scandinavian seas, the other only from 
the Australian-New Zealand seas, necessitate, at least for the pre¬ 
sent, that we regard these two forms as separate species. 
18 . Ophiactis profundi Ltk. & Mrtsn., var. Novae=Zelandiae n. var. 
Figs. 13.1—4. 
Ophiactis profundi. Liitken & Mortensen. 1899. “Albatross“ Oph- 
iuroidea. Mern. Mus. C. Zool XXXIII. p 140. PI. VI. 
figs. 4—6. 
— — H.L. Clark. 1915. Catalogue Recent Ophiurans. 
p. 264. 
— — R. Koehler. 1922. Ophiurans of the Philippine 
seas and adjacent Waters. Buli. U. S. Nat. Mus. 100. 
p. 192. PI. 63. fig. 8. 
Hen & Chicken Isl., 50 fms 30/XII.1914. 1 specimen. 
2 miles E. of North Cape. 55 fms. 2/1.1915. 2 specimens. 
Cook Str. 120 fms. 13/VIII.1920. Several specimens. (Collected by Mr. 
H a z e 1 w o o d). 
These specimens are undoubtedly closely related to Ophiactis 
profundi Ltk. «& Mrtsn. There are, however, some slight differ¬ 
ences which make me hesitate in simply identifying them with 
that species. 
