316 
All were taken on the rocks at the shore, at low tidé. 
I have nothing of importance to add to the descriptions of this 
species hitherto given. Regarding its relation to Ållostichaster in- 
signis, see under that species. 
23. Ållostichaster insignis (Farquhar). 
Stichaster insignis. Farquhar. 1895. Notes on New Zealand Echino- 
derms. Trans. N. Z. Inst. XXVII p. 203. PI. XIII.i. 
— — Farquhar. 1898. Notes on New Zealand Starfishes. 
Trans. N. Z. Inst. XXX. p. 188. 
— — Farquhar. 1898. On the Echinoderm Fauna of 
New Zealand. Proc. Linn. Soc. N. S. W. p. 314. 
— — Benham. 1909. Echinoderma. Sci. Res. N. Z. G. 
Trawling Exp. Rec. Canterb. Mus. I. p. 15. 
Ållostichaster — K o e h 1 e r. 1920. Echinodermata Asteroidea. Australa- 
sian Antarct. Exp. VIII.i. p. 85. PI. XX. 2 - 7 . Ph LXV. 2 . 
Masked Island, Carnley Harbour, Auckland Isl. On the rocks, at low 
tide. 3/XII. 14. 6 specimens. 
Figure 8 Island, Carnley Harbour, Auckland Isl. On the rocks, at low 
tide. 2/XII. 14. 3 specimens. 
Port Ross, Auckland Islands; ca. 10 fms. 25/XI. 14. 2 specimens. 
Stewart Island, ca. 20 fms. IG/XI. 14. 1 specimen. 
Queen Charlotte Sound. 3 —10 fms. 20/1. 15. 2 specimens. 
Wellington Harbour, 5 —10 fms. 16/11. 15. 2 specimens. 
Off Albatross Point. 25 fms. 11 /I. 15. 5 young specimens. 
The species being hitherto recorded only from Wellington to 
off Otago, it is interesting to have extended its area of distribut¬ 
ion down to the Auckland Islands. The specimens from off Alba¬ 
tross Point being very young, its occurrence to the North of the 
Cook Strait is still uncertain. 
Although typical forms of insignis and polylax are easily disting- 
uished, it is by no means always easy to distinguish the two 
species from one another. As a rule the spines of A. insignis are 
thicker and coarser than those of Å. polyplax, but specimens per- 
fectly intermediate in this regard are not rare. The arrangement of 
the spines on the superomarginal plates varies so considerably in 
both species, that no reliable difference is to be found herein; 
neither does the armature of the adambulacral and inframarginal 
plates and of the whole aboral side, nor the shape of the marginal 
