Habitat.—New Guinea, attached to the spines of a dead Echinus. Brit. Mus., and Cuming.

General Appearance.—Capitulum flat, pear-shaped, placed almost transversely to the peduncle. Valves white, smooth, moderately thick.

Scuta: the basal margin, as seen externally, is narrow, and can hardly be separated from the carinal margin; but an internal basal rim, ([fig. 5, b]) (along which the imbedded disc of the carina runs,) shows where, in the other species, the basal and carinal margins are separated. This basal internal rim is not parallel to the external basal margin, but runs upwards to the occludent margin, leaving beneath it a large triangular space, to which the membrane of the peduncle is attached; and this makes it appear as if the rostral umbones of these valves had grown downwards; but, judging from the allied species, P. fissa, I have no doubt that the primordial valves really lie on the umbones, and that the growth has been in the usual direction, that is, exclusively upwards. The occludent margin is curved, and blends by a regular sweep into the carinal margin, so that there is no acute upper angle. A distinct line can be seen, as if two calcareous valves had been united, running from the umbo to the upper end of the valve, thus in appearance separating a slip of the occludent margin; internally this appearance is more conspicuous; this structure is important in relation to that of P. fissa. The pointed umbones are divergent, and internally under each, there is a large tooth. The two valves are equally convex.

Terga, entirely absent.

The Carina ([Tab. II], [fig. 5, a, c]), including the disc, is three fourths as long as the scuta; it is placed almost transversely to the longitudinal axis of the peduncle; it is narrow and internally convex; the imbedded disc is very large, forming a continuous curve with the upper part of the carina; this disc runs along the internal basal rim of the scuta, and hence almost separates, internally, the peduncle from the capitulum; it equals one fourth of the total length of the valve, and is thrice as wide as the upper part; it is oval, externally marked by a central line, and with a slight notch at the end, giving a divided appearance to the whole, and indicating how easily a fork might be formed from it. The carina is thick, measured from the inner convex to the exterior surface, which is carinated; heel prominent.

Peduncle, narrow, very short, not nearly so long as the capitulum.

Mouth.—Labrum considerably bullate, with the lower part much produced towards the adductor muscle; crest with small bead-like teeth; palpi small, pointed; mandibles, with the first tooth standing rather distant from the second; inferior angle spine-like and bifid; maxillæ ([Pl. X], [fig. 15]), with two considerable spines (only one is shown in the Plate) beneath the upper large pair; the inferior upraised part bears seven or eight pair of spines, and its edge is not quite straight; close to the main notch, lying under the four upper spines, there are two minute notches, with the interspace bearing a tuft of fine spines and a pair of larger ones.

Cirri.—The rami in all are rather unequal in length, the anterior rami being rather the longest; the anterior rami of the second and third cirri are not thicker than the posterior rami. The segments in the three posterior cirri are not protuberant; the upper segments bear three or four pair of spines, with some minute intermediate ones, and with the lateral marginal spines unusually large and long, so as to form, with the ordinary pairs, a third or fourth longitudinal row; hence a small brush is formed on each segment. The dorsal tuft is large and wide, so as to contain even fourteen spines, of which some are as long as those in front. In the lower segments of these same posterior cirri, the lateral marginal spines are not so much developed (nor is the dorsal tuft), and hence the segments can hardly be said to be brush-like. The first cirrus is placed rather distant from the second pair. The second and third cirri differ from the three posterior pair, only in the bristles being slightly more numerous, and in the dorsal tufts being more spread out.

Caudal Appendages about half the length of the lower segments of the pedicels of the sixth cirrus; truncated and rounded at their ends; thickly clothed with long excessively fine bristles, so as to resemble camel-hair pencils.

The Stomach, I believe, is destitute of cæca; in it was a small crustacean.