4 
extent block the mouth of this kay, and farther off are the Wolves islands and 
Grand Manan with its retinue of smaller islands. To this region has been 
given the name of Western archipelago. 
It is this part of the Bay of Fundy which has been most thoroughly investi- 
gated, the Canadian Atlantic Biological Station being located on the St. Croix 
river near the point where it opens out into Passamaquoddy bay. At the 
present time this region is virtually without certain important fishes whose 
life history requires easy access to fresh water. The shad, salmon, alewife, 
and striped bass are now quite rare, although they were formerly abundant 
(see Atkins, 1887, p. 700). The action of the heavy tides through the archi- 
pelago mixes the water rather thoroughly, and determines cool surface conditions. 
Warm water species are notably absent except as strays, for example, the pipe- 
fish, cunner, sand flounder (Lophopsetia), and butterfish (Poronotus). On the 
other hand deep water forms occur far into ‘the inlet and in shallow water. The 
wrymouth (Cryptacanthodes) lives in the intertidal zone, the rosefish and thorny 
skate go far into the St. Croix river, the hagfish (/yxine) enters Passamaquoddy 
bay, and the rat-tail (Macrourus) is sometimes found at the surface in the 
approaches to the bay. Another effect of the unusual conditions is the presence 
in this district regularly each year of enormous quantities of young herring, 
giving rise to the sardine fishery which is centred in the Western archipelago. 
In the outer waters of this district the young herring, and to some extent even 
the older herring, may be obtained throughout the year, an evidence of the 
equalness of the temperature. The rather peculiar character of the water seems 
to be associated with the practical absence of the larve of fishes having pelagic 
eggs, although many of the eggs themselves may be found more or less regu- 
larly. This fact demonstrates the failure of the district as a spawning ground 
for these species, which must occur, therefore, only as immigrants in stages 
later than larvee. As compared with other parts of the Canadian Atlantic 
coast, Passamaquoddy bay supports at least two invertebrates, whose proper 
home is farther south, these being the starfish, Asterias forbesi, and the Ascidian 
Caesira manhattensis. In the group of the fishes there are no particularly south- 
ern species that are endemic in the bay. On the contrary, it supports a northern 
form, Myoxocephalus scorpius, that is absent from the warmer bays of the coast. 
The Kennebecasis bay on the St. John river, some distance above the re- 
versing falls, presents conditions not occurring elsewhere around the Bay of 
Fundy. It is the only place where we have found the medusa Aglantha and the 
Amphipod Parathemisto breeding. It is interesting also that only here are the 
hake (Urophycis) to be found in the winter. They are fished regularly by hook 
and line through the ice as was related by Adams (1873, p. 256), who erroneously 
considered these hake to be Merluccius. Cod, grayfish (Squalus), and skate 
(Raia diaphanes) are sometimes taken with the hake. 
The bays or basins on the Nova Scotian side of the Bay of Fundy present 
warmer conditions than those on the New Brunswick side, particularly toward 
their heads. Correlated with this is the occurrence endemically in these Nova 
Scotian bays of such southern species as the hermit crab, Pagurus longicarpus, 
and the gastropod, I/yanassa obsoleta. In Minas basin live also the crab, Libinia 
52 
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