NO. 9 MARINE INVERTEBRATES, ALASKA — MacGINITIE I25 



Two striking nematodes, 290 mm. and 325 mm. in length, were 

 washed ashore on August 18, 1948. These were white, with the head 

 end tipped with black, and a gray, or hyaline, longitudinal stripe along 

 the ventral side. 



The nematodes were sent to Dr. B. G. Chit wood for identification. 

 He expects to describe a new species of Thoracostoma that was found 

 in a rock from a depth of 130 feet on September 15, 1948. 



No attempt was made to find parasitic nematodes, but specimens up 

 to 180 mm. in length and i mm. in diameter were abundant in the 

 intestine of the bearded seal. Masses of another species so filled the 

 deeper nasal passages of this seal that one wondered how the animal 

 could breathe. 



Phylum NEMERTEA 



Nemerteans were more abundant ofif Point Barrow than in any 

 other place within the collecting experience of the writer. They oc- 

 curred in practically every haul from 30 to 741 feet. The collection 

 was turned over to Dr. Wesley R. Coe for identification, and the re- 

 sults of his study were published in 1952. From the 300 specimens 

 sent him (many duplicate specimens of certain species were not pre- 

 served) , Dr. Coe identified 24 species, only 3 of which had been taken 

 previously in the Point Barrow area of the Arctic (Cape Smythe, 

 Wainwright, etc.). At least 10 of the species had not been recorded 

 previously from Arctic seas: Tubulaniis capistratus (Coe), T. al- 

 bocincttis (Coe), T. frenatus (Coe), Micrura alaskensis Coe, Para- 

 nemertes peregrina Coe, Nemertopsis gracilis Coe, Amphiporus im- 

 parispinosus Griffin, A. pacificus Coe, Tctrastemma aherrans Coe, and 

 T. hicolor Coe. Four of the species found at Point Barrow are also 

 known from the Southern Hemisphere: Tubulanus anmdatus (Mon- 

 tagu), Linens ruber (O. F. Miiller), and Cerebratnlus juscus (Mc- 

 intosh) from the coast of South Africa, and Emplectonema gracile 

 (Johnston) from the coast of Chile. Tubulanus frenatus had been 

 recorded previously only from southern California. 



The most abundant genus was Amphiporus with seven species, and 

 the most abundant species were A. angulatus and A. lactifloreus. A. 

 angidatus was collected by Stimpson in Bering Strait in 1857. In 

 view of its abundance at Point Barrow and its size and conspicuous 

 coloration, it seems remarkable that it had not been taken previously 

 in this area. 



Two living specimens of Micrura impressa that washed ashore on 

 September 26, 1949, had taken measures of self-preservation. They 

 had literally tied themselves in knots, curled up into balls, and then 



