JJEPHTYIDAE FKOIM NORTHEAST PACIFIC HARTMAN 149 



includes at least tAvo species, N. caeca, from Alaska and Puget Sound, 

 and N. caecoides, from San Francisco. Johnson designated the Cali- 

 fornia specimens as "p^^gmies." N. caecoides is notably smaller than 

 N. caeca (cf. measurements above). 



N. caeca of ISIoore (1909, p. 243) includes at least two species, prob- 

 ably N. caecoides. from San Diego, represented by "examples of small 

 to medium size and colorless or slightly marked with brown figures 

 and bands on the prostomium and a few anterior segments" ; and N. 

 calif ovnierms. from Monterey Bay, the latter "much larger . . . pro- 

 stomium with a brown or black 'spread eagle' . . . free margins of 

 prostomium thin and produced . . . serrated setae forming flowing 

 tufts." N. caeca of Moore (1911, p. 243) probably includes these same 

 two species. The two specimens (station 4482, Santa Cruz Light- 

 house) with involute gills may be .V. dWranchis Grube (see page 146). 



Lack of information renders it impossible to ascertain the identity 

 of Hilton's N. caeca (1919, p. 27) from Laguna Beach, Calif., and 

 Treadwell's N. caeca (1914, p. 192) from "Alaska to Humboldt Bay." 



Comparison of N. caecoides and N. calif orniensis (see also page 

 150) . — These two are the only common littoral species of Nei)htysio\m(i 

 in numerous field collections from California. They sometimes occur 

 in the same beaches, almost side by side, but more usually are segre- 

 gated on the basis of substratum (see page 151). They resemble each 

 other strikingly in (1) trapezoidal outline of the prostomium (com- 

 pare fig. 63, a, l>. and fig. 64, «, &), (2) the proportions of the acicular 

 lobes (see figs. 63, f-h and 64, /-A), (3) the bathymetric and geo- 

 graphical ranges (see under distributions). 



The}' are distinguishable by the following characters: (1) Poste- 

 rior, postsetal, neuropodial lamellae are truncate in A^. calif ornieTisis 

 (fig. 64, A), rounded in N. caecoides (fig. 63, h) ; (2) recurved cirrus 

 is first present on third setiger in N. calif orniensis, on fourth in N. 

 caecoides; (3) the extent of the bristled area of the postacicular setae 

 differs (compare figs. 63, c, d and 64, c, <f ) ; (4) the superior neu- 

 ropodial lobe closely surrounds the superior setae in N. caecoides and 

 is collarlike in N. calif orniensis (fig. 64, /, g) ; (5) the nuchal papillae 

 are conspicuous in N. caecoides (fig. 63, a), not so in N. calif orniensis 

 (fig. 64, «) ; (6) the first dorsal and ventral cirri are triangular in 

 N. caecoides, cirriform in N. calif orniensis (figs. 63, a, 64, a) ; (7) 

 proboscis is provided with a median papilla in N. caecoides and 

 usually without in N. calif orniensis:, (8) setae are soft, silky, recum- 

 bent in N. calif orniensis, stiff in N. caecoides; (9) N. caecoides is 

 usually steel to dark gray in life, N. calif orniensis pearl-gray to pale 

 white; (10) the color patterns of the dorsal surface of the prostomium 

 differ (see figs. 63, a, h, and 64, a,h); and (11) iV. caecoides is usually 

 considerably smaller than N. californiensis (cf. measurements, pp. 

 148 and 150). 



