PLANKTON OF THE GULF OF MAINE 345 



Staurophora fluctuates greatly in abundance in the Gulf of Maine from year to 

 year. According to Willey and Huntsman (1921, p. 2) it was common in the channels 

 leading into Passamaquoddy Bay in 1910. As just noted, also, the summer of 1912 

 was one of plenty. For example, great numbers were seen floating on the surface and 

 a fathom or so down off Cape Elizabeth on July 29 and August 7; over Jeffrey Bank 

 and near Monhegan Island on August 8; it swarmed off Penobscot Bay on the 13th; 

 again a few miles off Seguin Island on the 22d; and 20 large medusae, upwards of 8 

 inches in diameter, were taken in a haul from 30 meters a few miles north of Cape 

 Ann on the 24th (Bigelow, 1914, p. 123). Staurophora occurred at more than one- 

 third of our stations for 1912 (16 locality records), distributed very generally over 

 the western and northern parts of the gulf, including Platts Bank, the Grand Manan 

 Channel, and Eastport. 88 Willey and Huntsman (1921) also mention its presence 

 in Passamaquoddy Bay and at St. Andrews during that summer. 



If our hauls gave a true picture, the years subsequent to 1912 saw a progressive 

 decrease in the numbers of Staurophora living in the Gulf of Maine. Thus, it was 

 at only two localities that we found it in any numbers in 1913 — in the southwest 

 part of the gulf on July 8 and over Jeffreys Ledge off Cape Ann on August 11 — 

 with the other locality records based on occasional specimens only or on fragments, 

 although it occurred at ten localities 89 — that is, at about the same proportion of 

 our stations as in 1912. Straurophora proved even scarcer in the gulf in 1914, 

 when we found it at only three stations in all (10214, 10224, and 10249), although we 

 visited the same general localities as in the two previous summers and at about 

 the same season. 



In 1915 this medusa was so rare that we took only three specimens at as many 

 stations (stations 10272, 10282, and 10290), although we towed in the coastwise 

 waters of the gulf as well as offshore on many occasions from May onward through- 

 out the summer: nor did we find it at all at our Gulf of Maine stations from Massa- 

 chusetts Bay to Georges Bank in July or August, 1916. From that time forward 

 the war caused a suspension of our work until the spring of 1920, hence nothing is 

 known of the status of Staurophora for the years 1917, 191S, and 1919 except that 

 none were seen at St. Andrews during that period (Willey and Huntsman, 1921). 

 But young Staurophora were once more plentiful in Ipswich Bay, Massachusetts 

 Bay, and along Cape Cod during the spring of 1920 (stations 20117, 20119, 20120 

 to ! 20122, and 20124 to 20126); and since it was found very generally in Passama- 

 quoddy Bay and its tributaries during that July and August (Willey and Huntsman, 

 1921, p. 2), it had evidently reestablished itself in the gulf in its former abundance. 



Although Staurophora, like the scyphomedusan genera Aurelia and Cyanea. 

 and like the various smaller hydromedusse (p. 340), is neritic, it is much less closely 

 confined to the coastal zone in its medusan stage than is either of the former or 

 than are most of the latter (p. 341), but occurs widely over the triangle between 

 Nova Scotia and the Maine coast in its summers of plenty, offshore as well as in the 

 coastal zone, and out to the 100-meter contour off the Massachusetts Bay region 

 (fig. 96). But it seems to be wholly absent from the south-central and southeastern 



» For these stations see Bigelow, 1914, p. 123. 



"Stations 10057 and 10058 in July; stations 10089, 10080. 10091, 10093, 10100,10103, and 10104 in August. 



