Three New Species of Comasteridae Echinodermata, Crinoidea from the Tropical Western Pacific

Three new species of unstalked crinoids (Echinodermata, Crinoidea) belonging to the comasterid genera Comactinia A. H. Clark, 1909, Capillaster A. H. Clark, 1909, and Cenolia A. H. Clark, 1916 from depths of 73-310 m, are described. Comactinia titan n. sp., from the Philippines and New Caledonia, which bears thicker arms than any other comasterid, is the first representative of its genus recorded outside the tropical western Atlantic. Capillaster squarrosus n. sp., from Vanuatu, resembles C. multiradiatus (Linnaeus, 1758) but has uniquely modified arms. Cenolia amezianeae n. sp., from southern New Caledonia and Vanuatu, resembles its congeners but bears combs on pinnules as far as P ₁₉ (rather than just to P ₄ as in other Cenolia ), which requires an emendation of the generic diagnosis.