BIOLOGICAL SURVEY OF WOODS HOLE AND VICINITY. SI 
deals with one or more species of animals or plants, which constitute, or at least fur- 
nish him with, the raw materials for his research. Thus, it is of advantage to all that 
a carefully prepared list of these organisms should be published, if regarded merely as a 
catalogue of available material. And it will, we trust, be of additional advantage to 
have at hand a single reference work which shall embody the nomenclature most recently 
adopted for these species by some of our most competent systematic experts. Confu- 
sion will, we think, be minimized by the existence of some standard, even though this 
standard may be a fallible one. 
In the present catalogue we are offering, however, far more than a mere list of 
species. We have gathered together all available data regarding distribution within 
local waters, seasonal occurrence, reproduction, etc., and have added various ecological 
notes, where these have seemed appropriate. It is our hope that these data may be of 
service to those who are in search of material for embryological or other studies. And 
we further hope that the decidedly meager notes which we offer may constitute a nucleus 
for future growth in this direction. 
It must be emphasized that we do not in any sense guarantee the trustworthiness 
of all the records herein contained. A large proportion of them have been included 
wholly upon the authority of others, whose names are mentioned in the text. Many 
species are included, indeed, which have never been seen either by the present writers 
or by the specialists who have collaborated with us. While such citations are, in most 
cases, bascd upon the statements of recognized authorities, it is more than possible 
that in some cases they rest upon errors of observation or of identification. But it 
would have been a very difficult task to cull out such mistakes, and we have therefore 
included all records based upon the statements of persons believed to be trustworthy, 
unless we happen to have definite evidence that these statements were erroneous. The 
mere failure of subsequent observers to find a species which had been included in one 
of the earlier lists is not to be regarded as decisive evidence of an error, in view of the 
known instances of change in the population of our local waters. 
Due credit has been given in a large proportion of cases to the authority for each 
statement made, the name of this person being inserted at the close of the citation. 
The person cited is responsible only for so much of the statement as immediately 
precedes his name. Independent citations are in nearly all cases separated by 
periods. In many instances the statement cited has never been published by the 
individual referred to, but has been communicated to one of the present authors orally 
or recorded in manuscript. Where no authority has been indicated for a given state- 
ment we mean either (1) that the present authors are themselves responsible for the 
observation, or (2) that the fact stated is a matttr of common knowledge to a large 
number of observers, or (3), in certain self-evident cases, that the bibliographic reference 
indicates the authority for the statement. 
With most groups of animals, as already stated, a certain proportion of the specimens 
collected were referred to specialists for identification. Since the value of a record 
depends, in great measure, upon the trustworthiness of the identification, we have 
indicated in a large number of cases, the authority for the latter. The symbols (* and 
the like) denote that specimens from the localities so designated have been identified 
by persons mentioned in a foot note at the commencement of the list. In the case 
of those organisms specimens of which were invariably referred to specialists, symbols 
16269°—Bull. 31, pt r—13——6 
