Felley and Vecchione: Nekton habitat on the continental slope of North Carolina 



267 



served swimming slowly slightly above the bottom, 

 maintaining position with low amplitude tail-beats. 



Individuals identified as rattails represented ei- 

 ther Nezumia bairdi, N. aequalis (Sulak 6 ), or 

 Coryphaenoid.es rupestris, the three species most 

 commonly encountered in the depth range of these 

 dives (Markle and Musick, 1974; Haedrich et al., 

 1980; Middleton and Musick, 1986). Rattails were 

 common in all dives and were seen both lying on the 

 bottom and maintaining position off the bottom by 

 swimming slowly (with low amplitude tail-beats). 



The hake commonly observed in the tapes was the 

 longfin hake, Urophycis ehesteri, a common species 

 on the continental slope of the western North Atlan- 

 tic (Markle and Musick, 1974; Haedrich et al., 1980; 

 Wenner, 1983; Sulak 6 ). Hakes were observed in ev- 

 ery dive, normally lying on the bottom. Quite often 

 they were found in depressions, their bodies in a cir- 

 cular or semicircular posture. 



Scorpaenids were observed in all Cape Hatteras 

 dives but only in dive 2621 at Cape Lookout. The 

 species represented may be Helicolenus dactylopterus 

 (Sulak 6 ). At Cape Hatteras, they were abundant in 

 both the upper slope (e.g. dive 2627) and the middle 

 slope (dive 2623). When seen, they were always ly- 

 ing on the bottom, their bodies often in a semicircu- 

 lar posture. 



Lizardfish were seen only on the upper slope, most 

 notably in dive 2629, where 14 individuals were ob- 

 served. These may represent Saurida brasiliensis or 

 S. normani (Sulak 6 ). 



Several different eelpouts were likely present on 

 these tapes, including Lycenchelys verrillii and 

 Lycodes atlanticus (Sulak 6 ). Lycenchelys paxillus is 

 a more northerly species (Markle and Musick, 1974) 

 but may occur on the North Carolina slope. Eelpouts 

 were the most abundant fish at Cape Hatteras, in 

 all dives, but were not seen at Cape Lookout. Indi- 

 viduals tended to be small (<15 cm), with dark 

 blotches, and lay in sinusoidal posture, usually near 

 objects on the bottom (most often small anemones). 



Small flounders were seen in all dives at Cape 

 Hatteras but were not found at Cape Lookout. There 

 were most likely several species represented, includ- 

 ing Glyptocephalus cynoglossus. This species is an 

 important component of the slope fauna (Markle and 

 Musick, 1974; Haedrich et al., 1980; Sulak 6 ). 



A fish occurring commonly only in dive 2629 was 

 designated as Species A. This may have been the off- 

 shore hake, Merluccius albidus ( Sulak 6 ). It was light- 

 colored with dark dorsal blotches, of moderate size 

 (<20 cm), had a terete shape, and a relatively large 



7 Williams. A. Natl. Mar. Fish. Serv. Systematics Laboratory, 

 Washington, D.C. Personal commun., 1992. 



head. It was always observed lying on the bottom, 

 its body straight. Most individuals swam away be- 

 fore the submersible got close enough for adequate 

 observation. The eel and the shortfin squid, Illex 

 illecebrosus (see below), also tended to move away 

 from the submersible. 



Several decapod crustaceans were also observed. 

 Sergestid shrimp were seen in every dive, always off 

 the bottom. Another decapod seen regularly at both 

 Cape Hatteras and Cape Lookout may have been the 

 shrimp Glyphocrangon sp. (Williams 7 ). Wenner and 

 Boesch (1979) found G. sculpta and G. longirostris 

 at depths greater than 1,000 m. These shrimp were 

 most abundant in dives 2623 and 2627. Individuals 

 were seen walking on the open bottom, where their 

 dark coloration and highly reflective eyes made sight- 

 ing these easy. 



The red deepsea crab, Geryon quinquedens, was 

 not seen in the upper slope dives but was observed 

 in all middle slope dives, walking on the open bot- 

 tom. It was included in analysis of Cape Lookout 

 species but was too rare to be included in the analy- 

 sis of Cape Hatteras species. Wenner and Boesch 

 (1979) found this species throughout the depth range 

 included here. 



Cancroid crabs were seen at Cape Hatteras and Cape 

 Lookout, in both upper and middle slope dives and likely 

 represent two species. Wenner and Boesch ( 1979) found 

 Cancer borealis and C. irroratus on the slope of the 

 Middle Atlantic Bight and C. borealis farther downslope 

 than C. irroratus. Several cancroid crabs were seen in 

 dive 2630, where they occurred in association with an 

 extremely dense patch of ophiuroids. 



The shortfin squid was observed at both Cape 

 Hatteras and Cape Lookout, in both upper and 

 middle slope dives. Individuals were usually lying 

 on the bottom but rose off the bottom when disturbed 

 by the submersible. Occasionally schools were seen 

 off the bottom. 



Small octopods were seen at both Cape Hatteras 

 and Cape Lookout in both upper and middle slope 

 dives. Individuals were small and most often associ- 

 ated with objects on the bottom, including sea anemo- 

 nes, crinoids, and gastropod shells. The species had 

 short arms and was probably Bathypolypus arcticus. 



Galatheid crabs were very common on the bottom, 

 especially in areas where holes were dense. We did 

 not include them in the analysis, because we found 

 that estimates of their numbers were biased depend- 

 ing on whether the submersible travelled up or down 

 the slope. When travelling upslope, only individuals 

 walking on the bottom were seen. When travelling 

 downslope, the camera was able to look down into 

 holes. Viewed in this way, many (if not most) of the 

 holes were occupied by galatheid crabs. 



