27. 



west flank is mainly composed of two species of crustaceans, 

 a small bottom dwelling shrimp and the red crab Geryon 

 quinquedens f and fish, with occasional patches of Hyatinoeoia 

 artifex in the shallow region. Farther up the canyon sponges 

 dominate the fauna. In the axis major components of the fauna 

 are shrimp and a variety of corals. Most of these corals are 

 species that are restricted to hard substrates. The gorgonian 

 Paramurioea gvandis and the solitary scleractinian Desmophyllum 

 QTistagalli are found in the deeper axis, while the alcyonacean 

 Eunephthya florida is common farther up the axis. Toward the 

 head of the canyon the coral Pennatula aouleata is quite common 

 between 400 to 600 meters. This species is restricted to soft 

 substrates. 



The substrate types in the axis of Oceanographer Canyon 

 were exceedingly diverse, with massive outcrops of rock and 

 consolidated clay on the walls of the axis and numerous talus 

 blocks on the canyon floor. The west flank of this canyon is 

 characterized by predominantly silty sediment, with a field of 

 glacial erratics and occasional outcrops of consolidated clay. 

 The east flank of Oceanographer Canyon is similar except that 

 it has more extensive glacial erratic fields. 



The faunal components found in various areas of Oceanog- 

 rapher Canyon are shown in Fig. 11. The fauna of the west 

 flank is composed of a variety of trophic types: two crustaceans, 

 a shrimp and the crab Geryon quinquedens ; two types of demersal 



