DIAGNOSIS. Shell: Relatively tall spired, with convex shoulders, a wide flat area between basal and peripheral angulations, peripheral spines long in juvenile and very short in adult. Moderately prominent peripheral angulation in centre of spire whorls and at upper third of last whorl, bearing moderately long, narrow, ventrally directed spines (12 on last whorl) in juvenile but, as usual in Bolma, spines become progressively smaller during growth so that last whorl of adult bears 15 low, scale-like nodules. Basal angulation prominent, bordered by a narrow, squamose cord. Sculpture of whorl upper surfaces consisting mainly of a prominent subsutural row of rounded, closely spaced gemmae, approximately 27 on last whorl of juvenile and 29 on last whorl of adult, with a few sparse rows of low, rounded gemmae developing down the spire on the gleaming, weakly
spirally lirate area between subsutural cord and periphery; row below subsutural cord develops on second whorl of juvenile specimen and fifth row of adult specimen; adult develops progressively more cords to bear three intermediates on this area on last part of last whorl. Area between angulations weakly spirally lirate in juvenile, bearing fine, regular, smooth, spiral threads in adult, about 17 on last whorl of holotype. Base shining and faintly spirally lirate in juvenile, with about 15 weak, smooth, spiral threads in adults, the six near the margin regular and close as on lateral area, the rest low, widely spaced and ill-defined. Basal callus very thin, transparent, polished, spread over about 1/8 of base near inner lip in juvenile, 1/3 of base in adult. Surface between suture and periphery marked light and dark purplish red to magenta, peripheral and basal angulation cords light magenta red between white or pink nodules and spines, a few light magenta red axial flames on vertical lateral areas, rest of shell pale cream; parietal wall and narrow basal area near columella white, inner edge of columella nacreous, outer edge of columella white; entire surface with a nacreous gleam.
Operculum: White, thick and strongly convex with a weakly granular, very slightly depressed centre in juvenile; relatively thin and weakly convex with very weakly defined spiral groove in centre and faint, concentric, marginal striations in adult.
DIMENSIONS. Holotype of B. bartschi: height 30 mm, diameter 35 mm; holotype of 6. asteriola: height 14 mm, diameter 20 mm (including spines).
TYPE LOCALITIES. Bolma bartschi: Albatross Stn 5629, off Dowarra Is., near Ternate, Moluccas, 375 m; B. asteriola: Albatross Stn 4924, Colnett Strait, eastern Sea of Japan, 291 m.
HOLOTYPES. Both in USNM; B. bartschi, 214444; B. asteriola 205733.
Examination of the holotypes of Bolma bartschi and Turbo asteriola suggests that the specimen of T. asteriola is a juvenile specimen of B. bartschi. It agrees with the much larger holotype of B. bartschi in its cream and red colour, its shape and its sculpture, but differs in having longer spines, pink (instead of white) subsutural nodules without the reddish purple between them, with secondary gemmules commencing after 2,25 whorls (compared with after 4,75 whorls (i.e. first 1/4 of body whorl) in bartschi) and a markedly more convex operculum. The apical spines are obviously broken off the holotype of B. bartschi and the spines presumably decrease in length down the shell as happens in other species of Bolma, so that this feature is presumably correlated with the small size of the holotype of B. asteriola. The differences observed in the operculum are probably due to a change with growth; as it becomes more flattened it develops a weak central spiral groove in the larger specimen. Only these two specimens of B. bartschi are known to us.
The other differences noted above between the 2 holotypes do not seem to us to be of sufficient magnitude to separate them as different species.