﻿PYCNOGONIDA 
  FROM 
  JAPANESE 
  WATERS 
  — 
  HEDGPETH 
  243 
  

  

  detail 
  is 
  the 
  high 
  number 
  of 
  species 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  compound 
  spines 
  of 
  

   the 
  oviger 
  bear 
  but 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  pairs 
  of 
  coarse 
  teeth 
  instead 
  of 
  

   numerous 
  pairs 
  of 
  fine 
  teeth. 
  This 
  characteristic 
  is 
  also 
  of 
  rare 
  oc- 
  

   currence 
  in 
  the 
  North 
  Atlantic, 
  although 
  a 
  Florida 
  species 
  has 
  com- 
  

   pletely 
  smooth 
  ovigeral 
  spines 
  and 
  a 
  species 
  found 
  on 
  the 
  Grand 
  

   Banks 
  has 
  spines 
  with 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  pairs 
  of 
  teeth. 
  

  

  This 
  is 
  evidently 
  correlated 
  with 
  temperature, 
  or 
  salinity, 
  or 
  per- 
  

   haps 
  both, 
  as 
  the 
  tabulation 
  (table 
  2) 
  indicates 
  a 
  close 
  agreement 
  

   with 
  the 
  significant 
  latitude 
  of 
  35° 
  in 
  the 
  North 
  Pacific. 
  Such 
  cor- 
  

   relation 
  is 
  not 
  evident 
  among 
  North 
  Atlantic 
  species, 
  but 
  it 
  is 
  im- 
  

   possible 
  to 
  tabulate 
  them 
  since 
  the 
  conformation 
  of 
  the 
  ovigeral 
  spines 
  

   is 
  not 
  described 
  for 
  several 
  west 
  African 
  species. 
  Fage 
  (1942, 
  p. 
  89) 
  

   suggests 
  a 
  southern 
  origin 
  for 
  the 
  three 
  west 
  African 
  species 
  of 
  

   Nymphon 
  without 
  auxiliary 
  claws. 
  Unfortunately, 
  he 
  did 
  not 
  de- 
  

   scribe 
  the 
  denticulation 
  of 
  the 
  ovigeral 
  spines 
  for 
  his 
  two 
  new 
  species 
  

   of 
  uniunguiculate 
  Nymphons. 
  

  

  STATISTICAL 
  COMMENTS 
  ON 
  THE 
  ALBATROSS 
  COLLECTION 
  OF 
  1906 
  

  

  The 
  Albatross 
  occupied 
  295 
  stations 
  (4801-5095) 
  in 
  Japanese 
  waters 
  

   from 
  June 
  to 
  October 
  1906, 
  at 
  59 
  of 
  which 
  pycnogonids 
  were 
  col- 
  

   lected. 
  In 
  other 
  words, 
  pycnogonids 
  were 
  collected 
  at 
  about 
  20 
  per- 
  

   cent 
  of 
  the 
  stations 
  occupied. 
  The 
  depth 
  of 
  these 
  59 
  stations 
  ranged 
  

   from 
  22 
  to 
  918 
  fathoms, 
  and 
  the 
  average 
  depth 
  was 
  about 
  325 
  fathoms. 
  

   Only 
  two 
  stations, 
  however, 
  were 
  actually 
  near 
  the 
  average 
  depth, 
  

   and 
  neither 
  can 
  be 
  considered 
  "average" 
  or 
  typical. 
  Most 
  of 
  the 
  

   stations 
  were 
  in 
  less 
  than 
  600 
  fathoms, 
  and 
  only 
  two 
  were 
  in 
  depths 
  

   of 
  more 
  than 
  900 
  fathoms. 
  

  

  More 
  than 
  375 
  specimens 
  were 
  taken, 
  representing 
  11 
  genera 
  and 
  

   36 
  species, 
  but 
  more 
  than 
  295 
  specimens 
  belong 
  to 
  the 
  genus 
  Nymphon, 
  

   and 
  150 
  of 
  those 
  are 
  a 
  single 
  species, 
  Nymphon 
  hraschnikowi. 
  Twenty- 
  

   six 
  stations 
  are 
  represented 
  by 
  single 
  specimens, 
  and 
  at 
  only 
  13 
  

   stations 
  were 
  more 
  than 
  one 
  species 
  taken. 
  The 
  average 
  number 
  of 
  

   species 
  per 
  station 
  is 
  1.6. 
  

  

  Such 
  statistics 
  as 
  these 
  are 
  primarily 
  of 
  value 
  in 
  indicating 
  the 
  

   relative 
  abundance 
  of 
  various 
  elements 
  in 
  the 
  marine 
  fauna, 
  but 
  com- 
  

   prehensive 
  tabulations 
  are 
  rare 
  except 
  for 
  ecological 
  summaries 
  in 
  

   connection 
  with 
  limited 
  areas. 
  In 
  such 
  studies 
  the 
  Pycnogonida 
  

   have 
  usually 
  been 
  overlooked 
  or 
  ignored. 
  However, 
  it 
  would 
  seem 
  

   that 
  the 
  relative 
  abundance 
  of 
  pycnogonids 
  in 
  the 
  North 
  Pacific 
  is 
  

   comparable 
  with 
  that 
  in 
  other 
  regions, 
  and 
  the 
  figure 
  of 
  positive 
  

   hauls 
  in 
  20 
  percent 
  of 
  the 
  stations 
  is 
  about 
  what 
  is 
  to 
  be 
  expected 
  in 
  

   northern 
  waters 
  at 
  least. 
  

  

  Few 
  collecting 
  expeditions 
  are 
  comparable 
  with 
  the 
  1906 
  expedi- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  the 
  Albatross 
  in 
  limited 
  area 
  and 
  short 
  time 
  of 
  collecting. 
  

   Such 
  expeditions 
  as 
  the 
  Challenger 
  and 
  Valdivia 
  covered 
  vast 
  areas 
  

  

  