NO. I POINT BARROW AMPHIPODA — SHOEMAKER 53 



MAERA DANAE (Stimpson) 



Leptothoe danae Stimpson, 1854, p. 46, pi. 3, fig. 32. 



Moera danae Bate, 1862, p. 190, pi. 34, fig. 6. 



Moera jusca Bate, 1864, p. 667. 



Maera dubia Catman, 1898, p. 269, pi. 32, fig. 3. — Holmes, 1904b, p. 239; 1908, 



P- 539- 

 Maera dattae Holmes, 1905, p. 525, pi. 12, fig. 2. — Stebbing, 1906, p. 440. — 

 Blake, 1933, p. 252. 



Material collected. — In 125 feet, 4 to 5 miles out, September 9, 



1948, 4 specimens. In no feet, September 16, 1948, 3 specimens. 

 Washed ashore at Point Barrow base, August 25, 1949, i specimen. 

 In 328 feet, September i, 1949, 6 specimens. In 217 feet, 7.5 miles 

 out, September 6, 1949, 12 specimens. In 295 feet, 5 miles out, 

 October 6, 1949, 6 specimens. In 175 feet, 4 miles out, October 14, 



1949, 8 specimens. In 162 feet, 3.2 miles out, February 18, 1950, 

 4 specimens. 



Leptothoe danae was described by Wm. Stimpson from Grand 

 Manan in 1854, and he gave a very small, sketchy figure of the species. 

 In 1862 C. Spence Bate transferred the species to the genus Moera, 

 and gave a figure which is little better than Stimpson's. S. J. Holmes 

 recorded it from Eastport, Maine, in 1905, and Charles H. Blake 

 recorded it from Mount Desert Island, Maine, in 1933. There are 

 specimens in the U. S. National Museum from the east coast of North 

 America from Passamaquoddy Bay, New Brunswick; Casco Bay, 

 Maine ; off Cape Cod, Mass. ; off Newport, R. I. ; and Vineyard Sound. 



C. Spence Bate in 1864 (p. 667) described Moera fusca from 

 Esquimau Harbor, Vancouver Island; and in 1898 W. T. Caiman 

 described Maera dubia from Puget Sound. Moera fusca and Maera 

 dubia undoubtedly represent the same species, and both appear to be 

 synonyms of Maera danae. Excellent specimens were taken off Point 

 Barrow which agree specifically with specimens from the New Eng- 

 land coast. 



The largest specimens from the east coast of North America 

 measure about 18 mm. The largest specimens from the west coast 

 and Alaska are also about this size. In the U. S. National Museum 

 there are specimens from the west coast of Queen Charlotte Islands ; 

 Puget Sound ; and Monterey Bay, Calif. 



Some specimens of Maera danae from the west coast differ some- 

 what from the typical east-coast form. The second joint of the third, 

 fourth, and fifth peraeopods is occasionally wider in proportion to 

 its length, and the rami of the third uropods are proportionately 

 slightly shorter, but these variations do not appear to be of specific 

 value. 



