CHAPTER 13 

 Geographical Distribution* 



Many species of Pogonophora are found in "The Eastern Sea" [i.e. the 

 seas bordering the eastern extremity of the Soviet Union] and in the adjacent 

 parts of the northern Pacific Ocean. This is more a result of the detailed 

 investigations which the deep-sea benthos of these parts of the ocean have 

 received rather than any evidence that they are particularly abundant here. 

 The very wide distribution of the Pogonophora is amply demonstrated by 

 their recent d iscovery in all parts of the world (see Fig. 87 for records up 

 to 1960). 



As a result of the cruises of R.V. Vitya£ in the western parts of the Pacific 

 Ocean, it has become apparent that in and around the Kuril-Kamchatka 

 Trench, the Japan Trench and the Bougainville Trench pogonophores are 

 characteristic and constant members of the bottom fauna (Fig. 87), while over 

 vast areas of the oceanic floor they are very few and far between (Ivanov, 

 1957a). In the Atlantic Ocean all finds of pogonophores have been found on 

 the continental slope rather than the ocean floor. 



In the Sea of Japan, to all appearances, there is only one species — Oligo- 

 brachia dogieli. As is generally known there is no true abyssal fauna in this 

 basin, probably because of the shallow straits which impede the entrance of 

 oceanic abyssal animals. In this connexion it is of importance to notice that 

 0. dogieli is one of the few eurybathic pogonophores. In the neighbouring 

 Sea of Okhotsk it inhabits depths of 119-572 m, and, in particular, it is found 

 near the Strait of Soya Kaikyo (= La Perouse Strait, between Sakhalin 

 Island and Hokkaido). 



The Bering Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk each possess a rich pogonophoran 

 fauna, with an interesting and quite different facies in the two seas. The same 

 may be said of the Kuril-Kamchatka and Japan Trenches and of the other 

 deeps. 



In the Bering Sea eleven species of Pogonophora have been found, of 

 which seven are not found elsewhere. In general the pogonophoran fauna of 

 this sea is very rich and diversified, and in a few places, at depths of 3000- 

 4000 m one may encounter a whole complex of Pogonophora consisting of 



* Much of this chapter has been rewritten, partly by the author and partly by the translator— 

 D.B.C. 



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