32 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol. us 



Blue Dolphin collection raised the number of Labrador species to 13 

 and extended the range of collections over nearly the full length of 

 the coast. 



Two species, Solaster endeca (Linnaeus) and Leptasterias littoralis 

 (Stimpson), recorded formerly from Labrador, were not included in 

 the Blue Dolphin collections. The first is an Arctic, Subarctic, and 

 Boreal species of rock, mud, and sand bottoms, recorded from eastern 

 North America to the Kara Sea and from the Bering Sea and northern 

 Alaska. The second is a Subarctic eastern North American species. 



Of the 13 Labrador species considered here, 6 are circumpolar, 5 

 extend from North America eastward to the northern U.S.S.R. but 

 apparently are absent from the Pacific and from areas immediately 

 on either side of Bering Strait, 1 (in several forms) extends from the 

 North Pacific to western Greenland, and 1 occurs in eastern North 

 America only. Five of the 13 species are Arctic to Boreal in distri- 

 bution and 8 are Arctic and/or Subarctic. 



Species Collected 



The waters of the Labrador Current, which flow southward off 

 the Labrador coast, are of mixed origin, coming partly from west 

 Greenland and partly from east Bafiin Island and Hudson Strait. 

 They contain both Arctic and Atlantic elements. Labrador Current 

 water of 50 m. and greater depth shows a temperature range of about 

 — 1.70° to nearly 3° C, and a salinity range of 32 to more than 34.5 

 (Dunbar, 1951). Waters of the coastal inlets of Labrador come 

 primarily from the Labrador Current and may be modified by 

 coastal drainage, according to Nutt (1953). Most of the inlets, 

 including Seven Islands Bay, Hebron Fjord, Kaipokok Inlet, and 

 St. Lewis Inlet, show temperature-salinity characteristics of the 

 lowest temperature and the lowest salinity portion of the Labrador 

 Current, that is, of essentially Arctic-type water with, it appears, 

 relatively little west Greenland influence. Lake Melville and, to a 

 lesser degree, Hamilton Inlet represent more specialized local condi- 

 tions. Nutt's observations in Hamilton Inlet showed water near 

 the coldest, least saline Labrador Current water in July, but much 

 warmer (more than 0° to more than 2° C.) and shghtly reduced in 

 salinity (to less than 31.5°/oo) in August. Lake Melville was shown 

 to be much less saline (less than 29%©) than Hamilton Inlet and about 

 the same temperature. 



The echinoderms of the Blue Dolphin collection come from two rather 

 different types of envhonment. One, including all but 2 of the species 

 (Poraniomorpha tumida and Urasterias lincki) and occurring at the 

 majority of stations, is relatively cold (usually less than 0° C.) below 

 50 m. but up to about 4° C. at the shallow stations, and not less than 



